


Finding what you're not looking for

by AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do, Atlas98



Category: Sanvers - Fandom, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Christmas AU, Eventual roomates, F/F, Firefighter/vet student au, Full of cliché means full of fluff, Mistletoe, Puppies to the rescue, Sanvers Endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-09-28 22:51:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17191769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do/pseuds/AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atlas98/pseuds/Atlas98
Summary: As Christmas draws near, a veterinary student and a stray dog challenge firefighter Maggie's commitment to remain a life long bachelor. Maggie doesn't believe in true love or happy ending and Alex isn't looking for love until she finishes school. You can't find what you're not looking for, right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AlmostAsGoodasIdo: Hello everyone! Here's a belated Holidays fic. Last year I watched a cliché romcom straight movie and thought it would be much better with queer people. (Duh) And of course, my mind went to my favorite lesbians of all times, Sanvers. A few months ago, I asked Atlas98 to help me and because she's awesome (and whipped) she said yes!! So together we wrote this fic based on the movie Nine lives of Christmas. So we Don't own the plot or anything. I hope you'll all enjoy this fluff mess. Please drop some comments if you did :)  
> And happy birthday MGmt ;) you're one of the best my friend

“Like this?” Maggie questions awkwardly, holding her fire axe staunchly in front of her as if she were about to load it onto the truck she leans back on. 

“Yeah...” the photographer, Steph, chimes in, her smile bright and friendly as she looks over Maggie. 

She’s pretty, seems smart and good at what she does. If Maggie wasn’t so invested in finishing up this photo shoot she might even flirt with her, but wearing half her gear in an attempt to be sexy isn’t exactly what Maggie loves about her job. A point she proves to herself as the rest of her fire crew smirks and giggles to the side of the fire truck, Winn posing provocatively and pouting at her as James laughs behind his hand. 

“Are we done?” Maggie asks, dropping the axe to her side a little in impatience. “Please?” 

Steph laughs, her smile hidden mostly behind her camera as she looks at Maggie. 

“No, no, no.” she giggles, finally lowering the camera and squinting at Maggie as she stands blandly in her uniform. “I need a couple of shots... maybe one where you don’t look so...’’ 

‘’Constipated’’ Winn cuts in, laughing his ass off, Lucy joining him even as she tries to turn away from Maggie as she glares across at them. “You're a firefighter. You gotta look hot if you wanna be on the cover.” he jokes. 

Maggie groans at the pun and roll her eyes. She glares at them, silently telling them they shouldn’t make fun of her while she's holding an axe. 

 “I don’t wanna be on the cover.” she protests. “Let James do it.” 

“I did it last year.” James laughs. “We agreed to rotate for the eye candy role, and you're up Sawyer.” 

“I'm going to quit, I swear.” Maggie grumbles, catching the laugh Steph let’s out at the conversation. 

“No, you won’t.” Jonn suddenly speaks up, leaning out from the office.  

Maggie glares playfully at her Chief, his knowing smile eating away at the frown on her face. She really does love her job too much to quit, has ever since a certain firefighter saved her from the fire that killed her parents as a kid. And despite that, Maggie's found her place here, defeating her fears and helping others who face them. It's what she believes she was always meant to do. 

Which is why she's a little grumpy about this whole Christmas calendar photo shoot. It feels like she's not entirely doing what she's here for. 

"This is lame." She grumbles under her breath. 

“Come on Maggie.” James levels. “It’s for charity, you know how much this raises for the children's hospital every year." 

Maggie nods and runs a hand through her hair, knowing that despite her grumpiness at doing all of this, it is actually worth it. But she admits it still doesn't stop the irritation at being teased by her crew when Winn chimes in on James' reasoning. 

“Yeah!” Winn agrees. “So, get some people hot under the collar for a good cause.” he sniggers, Lucy smacking his arm as she bursts out laughing. 

Maggie rolls her eyes and groans at them, silently wishing she could hide in the truck. 

‘’Just try...smiling with your eyes.’’ Steph advises her encouragingly, motioning at Maggie lightly to get the fire fighter to put the axe on her shoulder. 

Maggie just sighs, shaking her head as she does as she’s told. The advice to smile is running through her head, but it doesn’t get a chance to have an impact as the siren suddenly blares through the firehouse. 

“Get going everyone!” Jonn calls from the office, phone tight to his ear as he takes directions to the fire motioning at Winn that he's sending them through to the truck's GPS. 

The entire crew bolts into action, Maggie hooking the axe back onto the side of the truck as she runs to the locker room and hauls on her jacket and grabs her helmet. She’s stepping into the fire truck behind James when a hand suddenly tugs on her sleeve. 

“Hey.” Steph halts her, Maggie looking down to the photographer's hand where it still holds to her jacket sleeve. Steph notices and let’s go nervously, tucking her hair back a little as she reaches into her pocket. “In case you wanna.. go over the photos or something.” She offers, holding her card out to Maggie. 

“Or something...” Maggie says a little playfully, knowing by now when a girl is asking her out. 

Steph nods and bite her lip as she steps back, Winn shaking his head as he turns the steering wheel and lets the truck roll out of the station. Maggie grabs the handle above her head and slumps down next to James, both him and Lucy raising eyebrows at her. 

“What?!” Maggie yells over the siren. 

“How do you do it?!” James questions with a disbelieving shake of his head. 

“Do what?!” Maggie calls, looking between the pair in confusion. 

“Girls literally line up for you Sawyer!” Lucy yells, her helmet bouncing on her legs as they speed through intersections. 

Maggie shakes her head. “That’s a bit dramatic, Lane!” 

James and Lucy both shake their heads, Maggie reading the word ‘whatever' on their lips. She just rolls her eyes and looks out the door, trying to get focused on where they’re going.  

The fire truck horn suddenly blasts and Maggie grimaces at the noise as they speed past the University, her eyes catching onto a shocked young woman who obviously had to slam on her car brakes for them.  

Her short red hair has fallen across her face at the stop, the girl shaking it back a little as her hazel eyes lock with Maggie's. The firefighter smiles a little apologetically for Winn’s terrible driving and offers the cute girl a smile. She can’t help laughing a little to herself when the woman looks back at her with a stunned expression and wiggles her fingers on her steering wheel as an awkward wave in response.  

The sight is soon lost, Maggie glancing back for some reason to try and see before she shakes her head and turns back to her crew. She pulls her helmet on, adjusting it and securing the straps. 

“Okay let’s do this, guys.” Winn calls over the intercom. “Coming up in three minutes, be ready.” 

Maggie smiles at James and Lucy.  

“Always am.” she says to herself, ready to finally do her job for the first time today. 

 

 

“No Kara... no.. I want the last piece of pie.. no..” Alex mumbles in her sleep, very intent on getting the last of their favourite Christmas dessert. 

“Danvers.” her professor echoes quietly, not quite pulling Alex out if it as she lies face down, her arms folded across the table beneath her forehead. 

“You always get it... no I don't..” Alex mumbles. 

“Danvers!” the professor yells. 

“Huh! What?!” Alex snaps up, her eyes focusing on her classroom, veterinary charts and diagrams lining the walls. 

“Care to answer the question miss Danvers?” the professor urges, his glasses scrunching up as his beard twitches in satisfaction of Alex not getting it right because she’s been sleeping. She’s never gotten a question wrong. 

“What uh... what was it, sir?” Alex asks innocently, brushing her short hair back into place as her best friend Susan sniggers beside her. 

“How would you treat a case of Sinus Bradycardia in a middle-aged dog, miss Danvers?” The professor smirks out. 

Alex’s brain scrambles, words flying out as she recognizes the issue. 

“SB is indicated by a reduced rate of impulses on the sinus node.” Alex recites. “A complete blood profile should be carried out to rule out underlying diseases and issues. And as many dogs exhibit no clinical signs or actually require treatment if no external problems are found, my answer would be to observe and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Sir.” Alex rambles out. 

The professor's eyes widen in shock, narrowing in irritation at the fact Alex is correct. Susan laughs into her hand at the exchange, coughing in an attempt to cover it up. Alex shoots her a look as the professor turns to the dark-haired girl. 

“Anything to add miss Vasquez?” the professor questions. 

“Uh no. No sir.” Susan chuckles out, eyes averting to her veterinary textbook as the professor stalks to the front of the class again. 

He looks like he’s about to give the worst lecture of the entire year before a bell sounds, signalling the end of the class. Alex sweeps her books into her bag and rushes for the door, Susan laughing as she jogs after her. 

“Slow down Alex.” Susan grumbles as they reach the front yard, Alex making her way to her car to go to work. 

“Shit. That was close.” Alex mumbles, running a hand through her hair as she takes a moment to breathe. 

“I’d say.” Susan smirks, the joking expression on her face fixing way to slight concern as Alex just nods. “You really should slow down a little you know. You're so focused on school, do you even have a life outside of it?” 

Alex scoffs, her mind racing again to try and find an answer to this question. But it’s not one she’s prepped for. 

“Of course I do... I um.. you know.” She waves dismissively at her friend. 

“Actually I don’t.” Susan retorts. “I invite you out and get hit with the studying excuse more often than not. You haven’t even met my girlfriend yet Alex.” She says sort of sadly. 

Alex is aware she’s probably failing at this whole friend thing right now. Because Susan is right, she is really focused on school all the time, but she has goals, ones she really wants to make happen. Alex can’t afford distractions from that. 

“I know. I'm sorry.” Alex offers sincerely. “And I promise I do want to meet...” she stalls, forgetting Susan's girlfriends name. 

“Lucy.” Susan chimes, motioning over Alex a little as if proving a point. 

Alex winces at that and nods approvingly. 

“Right! Lucy. I promise I want to meet her. And I’m glad you’re so happy Vas.” Alex smiles out, nudging her friend’s shoulder as they walk towards her car. 

The other woman rolls her eyes and smiles at her. 

“You could be happy too, you know.” Susan says playfully. “She’s got a friend who’s totally your type-" 

“Woah, woah, hold up.” Alex cuts in. “You know I’m not doing any dating right now. I can't concentrate on that.” she reasons. 

Vasquez stops her with a hand on her shoulder and sighs.  

“You'd like her Alex. That’s all I'm saying.” she explains. 

Alex looks down and kicks the cement with the tip of her boot, refraining to scoff. 

“I'm not sure that’s a good thing.” Alex admits. “I don’t want to have to choose between school and someone, I won’t.” She determines, unlocking the car and throwing her bag inside onto the passenger seat. 

Susan looks her over, eventually nodding to herself in acceptance.  

“Okay. But you'll meet her one day and regret not doing it sooner.” She jokes, pulling Alex into a hug. 

“Yeah, yeah I know, you always say that.” Alex chuckles out, pulling back from her friend with a smile. 

She smacks at Susan’s arm as she rolls her eyes and starts towards her own car. 

“I mean it this time, Alex.” Susan throws over her shoulder. “You could love this girl.” 

Alex just shakes her head. She isn’t looking for anything right now, let alone love. So she just gets in the car, the key scraping as she pushes it into the ignition and pulls her belt across her chest as the engine rumbles. 

She reverses out and looks around a little before pulling towards the exit. The street is mostly clear, so Alex starts rolling off the line looking down the way she’s turning, but she slams on the brakes when a loud horn blares from the other direction, her gaze snapping to a fire truck as it speeds towards her.  

A part of her braces, another focused on the way the truck moves to miss her. Her gaze ends up looking straight into deep brown eyes, the contrast of the bright firefighter's uniform on the woman’s dark skin making Alex’s mouth go a little dry as she flicks her hair out of her face to see a bit better. 

The motion of the insanely hot firefighter waving at her prompts Alex’s fingers to wave back a little on the steering wheel, even as the woman’s smile leaves her staring blankly after the truck as it speeds down the road. 

Alex watches after it, the wheels clipping the curb a little as it takes the corner at the end of the road. She lets out a deep breath and shakes her head a little, the image of the woman’s wave sticking a little in Alex’s head. 

She only really breaks out of thinking about it when her phone rings, ‘Caitlin S.’ flashing on the screen with a picture of Alex and her co-worker goofing around with the dog toys at work. Alex scrambles to answer it. 

“Hi Caitlin.” Alex mumbles into the phone. 

“Hey, you're coming in, today right? Ms Devonport is here again and you know you're the only one who can deal with her.” Caitlin laughs softly to mask the mild annoyance. 

Alex chuckles to herself, her head finding the steering wheel at the mention of the recurring customer that drives them all a little crazy. The elderly woman always seems to forget that the pet store isn’t a vet office, even though Alex still ends up sending her out with dog treats and at least one collar. 

“Yes, I'm on my way right now, be there in ten.” Alex assures. 

“Great! I’ll see you in a bit.” Caitlin says excitedly and a bit relieved, the line beeping off as Alex tosses her phone onto the seat beside her. 

This time, she looks carefully before rolling out onto the road, some tiny and inaudible part of herself hoping to see a fire truck come around the corner as she does. 

 

 

Maggie sighs, leaning her chin on her forearms after turning her truck off. It's been a long night shift, they’re all usually long shifts. And especially now with December starting, everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit, so many people stopping Maggie in the street after recognizing her from the calendar they released last month. Those encounters feel more draining than her actual job sometimes, so when Maggie finally gets to come home, it's practically the best relief of the day. 

So, she can’t help but smile at the house she’s currently calling home. The old Victorian style building looks right at home against the rising sun, even the old paint not making a dent in its charm. 

It’s been something she’s done for a while now, buying a house, fixing it up and then selling it. But for some reason this one... well Maggie just has a good feeling about it. 

She clambers out of the truck, leaning into the back to grab her duffel bag off the box of her truck. She walks toward the house and winces at the absence of snow to fit the few Christmas decorations she’s had the time to put up. Might be the one and only thing she misses from Blue Springs.  

Maggie stops in her tracks when she hears a loud hiss and a scared yap sound from the pile of wooden planks in the yard. She shakes her head and shuffles over to investigate, knowing that Mrs Davidson’s cat from next door is always cornering any other animal it can find.  

Approaching the stacks of wood, Maggie spots the black and wiry cat inching into the wood pile, tail raised and whiskers flaring as it hisses again, scratching into an empty space between the fresh cut planks and bags of clay. Maggie frowns and whistles to get the cat’s attention when she realises it's attacking a small pup.  

''Get out of here!” Maggie shoos sternly, stomping her foot a little on the driveway when the cat looks up at her grumpily. “I mean it.” She scowls, folding her arms in approval when the cat sulks off and jumps back over the fence.  

The firefighter approaches the puppy as it takes a few steps back. And even she has to admit, she smiles a little at the little puppy face that stares up at her, little black and brown spots patching themselves across snow white fur making the small Labrador even cuter.  

“Come on buddy.” Maggie urges, kneeling down. “The mean cat's gone I promise.” She chuckles out at the sceptical look on the puppy's face. ''I’m not gonna hurt you cutie, don't worry.’’ Maggie coos, leaving her hand between them to give the puppy time to adjust to her.  

It slowly trots toward her, his front paw cradle to his chest, whining. Maggie’s heart aches at the sight of small drops of blood matting in his white fur.  

“Come here little guy.” She urges gently picking him up cautiously as she looks into his brown eyes as her fingers scratches behind the dog’s dirty ears.  

‘’Aren’t you handsome, little one? Yeah, you like that, don’t you?’’ Maggie cuddles, standing back up and clearing her throat. She hopes nobody just heard her talk like a baby to a hurt puppy.  

But when the dog licks her chin and closes his eyes happily, Maggie finds she doesn’t care if anyone heard her. She smiles a little and notices a red collar around his neck and read the chip name. _JACK_. Maggie grins at the name and picks up her duffel bag from the pavement, walking back toward the house.  

‘’Well Jack, seems like you need a warm place to stay until I find your owner, what do you say?’’ Maggie questions, forcing herself to use her normal voice.  

She opens the front door and shoulders her way through it, putting her bag and the dog down. But Jack whines again, hiding his head in Maggie’s leg, rubbing himself against her. Maggie frowns, looking down at the hurt and irresistible puppy. So of course, she picks him up again, sighing as she closes the door with Jack in her arms. She looks him over when he grumbles a little and nuzzles up into her neck. 

“You hungry?” Maggie assumes, finding herself cuddling the puppy to herself at the little noise he makes in response. ‘’Alright, gonna have to buy a few things for you, right buddy?” She continues, frowning at the realization that she's talking in a baby voice again, her fingers running absentmindedly through Jack’s fur. It freaks her out a little, not that Maggie will admit it. 

“But you're just staying the night.” Maggie determines against the warm feeling in her chest at having Jack’s puppy breath on her face. “Seriously, I don't even have a plant because that's too big of a commitment.’’  

Jack just puts his paws on her chest, pushing back slightly to look at Maggie. And even with the joyful look on his face, the slight traces of fear are still there and his nose sniffs at Maggie nonstop, making sure he can trust her.   

The gesture puts Maggie on edge, her smile fading as she too smells the young pup and realizes he must have been hanging around in the neighbourhood lately, dirt sticking to his back and paws which leave prints all over her dark blue shirt. Maggie sighs and pats Jack’s back as she shuffles further into the house.  

‘’Oh boy... I’m in trouble, aren’t I?’’  

 

 

Alex bites her lip and chooses another ice cream flavour, pathetically putting it in her cart with the others. She rushes to the end of the cold aisle and turn to the next row to get Gertrude some food before anyone can see the mountain of frozen dairy she’s got.  

She stops abruptly as she sees a beautiful and familiar brunette eyeing the dog food section meticulously, two bags balanced in her hands. Her hair is up in a neat bun, showing her tan skin and full lips as she reads the back of a bags with a sceptical look in her eyes.  

Alex notices the navy bomber jacket over the woman's body, the emblem of the local firehouse stitched proudly on the sleeve. Alex mentally berates herself when she finds her eyes following the line of the firefighter's waist, along her cargo pants before forcing her eyes to drift back to the bags of food she holds instead. 

‘’I wouldn’t buy that one.’’ Alex speaks up before she can even stop herself. 

The vet student winces at her randomness while the woman looks up in confusion, turning toward her. She looks around, wondering who Alex is talking to when she realizes it was actually her. Alex bites her lip and walks closer, scratching her eyebrow nervously. 

‘’Hi! It’s just that I notice you were hesitating between the brand and I’m just not recommending the commercial brands.’’ Alex tells her, nodding a couple of times, trying to appear confident in her messy save of the situation. “But this one is pretty good.” She reasons, reaching for the same kind she gets Gertrude if she’s in a hurry. 

The woman grins at her slowly and puts the two bags she holds back on the shelf in a show of acceptance for Alex’s advice. 

“How so?” she questions, seemingly very interested in the difference Alex clearly knows, a hand finding her hip as she waits for a further explanation on the choice. 

 “Well this one is made local, so its fresh and the ingredients are all locally sourced. But those...” Alex motions over the shelves the firefighter was at. “Are imported. Months old and usually the pieces are so stale it hurts the puppy's teeth.” she says, having done her research meticulously after getting Gertrude a few weeks ago.  

The brunette nods at the information sincerely, Alex noting how she clearly wants the best for her puppy even though she’s totally new to this. She takes the dog food from Alex with a genuine smile and rests it under her arm. 

“And where exactly would I find the best dog food then?” the woman asks. “Where do you get yours?” 

Alex gulps down the nervousness and reaches into her purse, pulling out a business card. 

‘’Well here, this is the address to the store I’m working at.” she explains, passing the card over. “You can come by anytime you want... or not. It’s your choice, really.’’ Alex ramble before shutting up. 

The firefighter keeps on smiling at her, tipping her head to the side coyly. 

‘’Do you always steal the grocery store’s clients to bring them to your work?’' the woman jokes, dimples etching confidently into her cheeks. 

Alex half gasps and half laughs at the sight, the sound that ends up coming out of her mouth making her want to die. She shakes her head and looks down the floor in embarrassment. 

‘’I don’t, I...it’s not my store, I just work there while I’m finishing my veterinarian degree. I just want the best for your puppy.’’ she explains quietly. 

The firefighter nods and smirks at Alex while the vet student chastises herself for not acting like a regular human in front of this woman. 

‘’Actually, it’s not my puppy. I sorta rescued him from this menace of a cat and decided to look after him until I find his actual owner. I’m just grabbing a few things for him.’’ The woman tells her. 

“Oh! So you’re a hero!” Alex points out, hands motioning over the woman's uniform as Alex swears at herself internally. ‘’Well, obviously you are, I guess that makes you a double hero, then.’’   

The firefighter just chuckles as she stops looking over the shelves of food and turns toward Alex. 

‘’Anyone would have done it I’m sure. And this is just my job so... you know.” she offers modestly, a slight hint of nerves creeping into her tone before she locks eyes with Alex again. “Oh, while I have you, an apprentice expert! Jack, the pup, he got hurt by the cat. I cleaned the scratches on his paw and bandaged it up a little. Is that alright?’’ 

Alex congratulates herself for actually hearing everything the woman just said, her mind definitely focusing a little too much on her smile. If she’s honest, Alex can’t help but notice how cute the firefighter looks when she's worried. Cute...and hot. Alex shakes her head, forcing herself to get these thoughts out of her mind. She doesn’t have time for this... doesn’t have time for crushes. She needs to finish vet school. 

“You did great, yes.” Alex assures. “I have a co-worker who can check him out if you come by with Jack tomorrow.’’ she tells the beautiful brunette. 

The woman smirks at her and shrugs, the gesture making Alex finally notice that the brunette is actually shorter than her. It doesn’t help Alex’s rambling heartbeat, enjoying towering the petite strong woman. 

‘’Could you do it?’’ the firefighter questions. 

Alex laughs shortly, pushing her hair behind her ear. God, her sister would make fun of her right now if she saw this. She's never been this nervous before. Alex clears her throat, massaging the back of her neck to stop from fidgeting. 

“Uhh... no. I’m not licensed yet.” Alex explains. “I’d love to meet Jack though. He’s so lucky that you found him.’’ she offers with a small smile. 

The firefighter accepts the answer and nods briefly with a smile of her own, her hands reaching up and playing with the edge of her bomber jacket in a subtle show of bashfulness. And Alex can’t help but follow the motion, her eyes locking onto the way the brunette’s fingers tighten on the bottom of the jacket’s zip, paint splattered over her knuckles. 

“Painting today?” Alex asks curiously. 

The brown eyed woman looks up at the question, following Alex’s eyes down to her hands. She smiles up at her and reaches a hand behind her back, pulling two cards from her pocket. 

‘’Because you’ve been helpful, ...’’ She stalls, eyeing Alex for the rest of the sentence. 

‘’Oh! Um... Alex. Alex Danvers.’’ the vet student rushes out, surprise with herself for giving her name this easily. 

The other woman smiles at that, repeating her name quietly as if reciting it to memory. Alex just loses herself in the lines of the petite woman’s mouth for a second as her name motions out. 

‘’Because you’ve been tremendously helpful, Alex, I wanna know which white you think might be the best for my living room?’’ she asks, lifting the cards up, varying shades of white scrawled over the surface. 

‘'Angel’s wings...yikes. Cloud’s dust or Cocaine bust?’’ the woman questions, her eyebrow raising playfully. 

Alex laughs at that, throwing her head back a little and brushing her hair back to see better.  

‘’It does not say that!’’ Alex argues.  

She shakes her head and reaches for the cards, but the brunette pulls away. She joins her laugh to Alex’s chuckle at the defensive motion and lifts her hands up in surrender. 

‘’Okay, okay, it doesn’t! It’s actually Snow kiss.’’ the fire fighter reads, her eyes moving over the name on the card before holding them out to Alex again. 

Alex snorts at the cheesiness and ignores the lifted eyebrow she gets from the woman in response. Instead she tries to focus, inspecting the white choices and eventually pointing out her favourite. 

‘’Definitely ‘Thousand Suns’. The name is pretty inaccurate but the white is warm enough but not blinding. If your house is more traditional, it’s definitely the perfect fit.’’ Alex explains, certain that Kara and most definitely her sister's boss, the real estate giant Cat Grant would be proud of her choice. 

The firefighter frowns and holds the card up close to her face, taking a moment before smiling at the choice. 

‘’Huh, look at that, you seem to know everything Danvers.’’ The woman jokes with a small grin. 

Alex shakes her head and looks back down to her boots, hoping she won’t be caught blushing. 

‘’Everything but your name.’’ Alex bravely says, looking up into the woman’s ebony eyes when she chuckles. 

Grinning, she extends a hand toward Alex, the vet student still mesmerized by her dimples.  

‘’I’m Lieutenant Sawyer. At your service.’’ she smirks, shaking her hand. 

Alex just stares with an impressed look in her eyes, still holding the woman’s calloused hand long after she stops shaking it. 

“You're a Lieutenant...” she repeats, pulling her hand back nervously when the brunette looks down at their joined hands in amusement. 

“Yeah.” Sawyer confirms, politely not mentioning Alex’s lack of communication skills right now.  

Even though Alex wants to keep whatever this is going, she finds her hands searching for a bag of treats for Gertrude before landing heavily on her cart, part of her wanting to find the closest hole and crawl in it. 

“I should um...go pay.” she rambles out, motioning to the checkout. 

The lieutenant bites her lip to suppress a smile and Alex practically feels her lungs give out as the brunette says something over the action that has Alex lost in thought. 

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Alex questions, shaking her head to clear it a little. 

“We’re headed the same way.” Sawyer repeats with a smile, nudging her way past Alex’s cart and tugging the front of it a little to get the vet student moving towards the cashiers.  

Alex follows on, trying her best to stay focused on the lieutenant’s back instead of letting her eyes wander anywhere else. It proves to be a mission and a half, so Alex is grateful when the woman chooses the express lane and she ends up in the one beside it. 

The small amount of space seems to let Alex catch the breath she didn’t realize she was holding, the sound of her items ticking past the cashier calming her a little. At least until a commotion sounds from the isle over. 

“Oh my god it’s you!” the elderly cashier lady in the firefighter’s lane yells excitedly, practically clambering over the counter to haul Sawyer into a hug.  

“This woman saved my life! You saved my life!” the woman says loudly to her apparent saviour, spinning her to face the entire store. “Everyone! This young lady is the bravest soul I have ever met!” 

“Oh ma'am, please I'm just doing my job it’s fine.” the woman offers modestly, clearly a little uncomfortable with the sudden attention on her as everyone smiles and holds their phones up. 

“Nonsense.” The cashier scoffs. “Courage such as yours isn’t found in duty young lady, it’s found in here.” She reasons, tapping at the lieutenant’s chest like a proud mother. 

Alex notices the slight flash of something in the firefighter's eyes before she clearly pushes it down inside and accepts another hug from the cashier. 

“Cash or card?” Alex suddenly hears, her own cashier staring at her with a less than amused expression on his face. 

Alex mumbles out an apology and swipes her card over the screen before pushing her cart towards the exit, the firefighter still locked in a vicious hug as Alex leaves. 

The fresh evening air hits her like a ton of bricks and Alex grumbles about the wind all the way to her car, clicking it open and hauling the boot open so she can start tossing groceries in messily. 

“Of course, you'd rescue a puppy...and an old woman. All while looking like the cover of a Christmas calendar, because what else would I end up being a mess about.” Alex rambles to herself, her palm finding her face as her brain tells her to get a grip. She thinks she has, until she pulls the boot closed and looks back up. 

All she sees is Lieutenant Sawyer running towards her, everything moving sort of slowly in Alex’s eyes. From the way the woman's jacket blows back a little to show her shirt, to her eyes intent with purpose the closer she gets. It all leaves Alex breathless and she finds herself bracing for Sawyer to... hug her? Kiss her? Alex can’t decide in the moment what she actually wants it to be. 

But it all snaps away when Sawyer runs past her, her boots slipping a little on the pavement as she grabs Alex’s cart just before it rolls into traffic. 

“Shit.” Alex mumbles to herself, fingers clenching a little as the firefighter comes back towards her, smiling as she catches her breath slightly. 

“Close call there Danvers.” she jokes, leaning against the cart casually like she didn't just reorganize Alex’s respiratory system entirely. 

“Yeah” Alex chuckles out, a hand finding the back of her neck nervously. “Thanks for that.” 

“No worries.” Sawyer smiles. “Hey, so I was just thinking about it... I'm sorry if this is weird, but have we met somewhere before? You seem familiar...” she leaves the idea open, obviously not wanting to seem imposing. 

Alex takes a second to think about it and realizes that the bright smile on the lieutenant’s face does trigger something in her mind. 

“I don’t know.” Alex answer slowly, her mind searching for the connection her heart is telling her that exists. “I think maybe, but I’m not sure. I’m usually good at remembering faces, you do seem familiar.’’ 

“You're okay. I'm just glad you don't know me from a calendar or anything.” Sawyer laughs, reaching out to place a hand on Alex’s arm. “Let’s just say we met in a past life or something" she jokes. 

Alex ignores the flutter in her chest and focuses on the first part of the woman’s statement. 

“Calendar?” Alex questions, a smile tugging at her lips at the implication. 

The firefighter shakes her head to hide the slight regret at bringing the subject up. 

“Oh uh... nothing, nothing, don’t worry.” she rushes put with a shy smile. 

Alex just nods back shyly, the warmth of the woman’s hand on her arm starting to make her lose track of the apology still running loose in her head. The woman must notice though, pulling back innocently and giving Alex an assuring smile. 

“May I?” she asks, motioning between Alex's cart and the store, questioning if she can take it back. 

“Oh, you don't have to I can d-" 

“It’s my pleasure.” she insists sincerely, already starting to make the trip. 

Alex watches after her for a moment, her mind flashing with dimples and brown eyes before she sulks over to the driver’s car door and pulls it open. 

“Hey Danvers!” the firefighter suddenly calls, prompting Alex to look at her over her shoulder. “I'll see you around.” She smiles, turning back to the store. 

And as much as Alex refuses to acknowledge it, her heart hopes that seeing Lieutenant Sawyer again will actually happen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do: I want to thank you all for the kudos and comments, your response and excitement for this story is the reason we're updating so soon! We're very happy to share it with you guys.  
> For those of you who might have missed it, I myself posted a one shot Christmas fic last week-I bet my heart on you.  
> I hope you'll enjoy this second chapter as much as the first one, leave us feedback y'all :)
> 
> Happy New Year everyone x

Alex tugs her coat on a little tighter as she locks the car, shoving her keys deep into her pockets and holding the grocery bag close to her chest as the night air bites at her neck. But as she shuffles towards her apartment block, Alex is pretty sure the hair rising is more of a warning for her landlord that stands on the front step more than the cold itself. 

“Miss Danvers.” the bulky man in a suit says curtly, always sounding more professional and colder than truly polite. 

“Mr Edge.” Alex offers innocently. “Lovely night.” 

The man smiles curtly, shrugging and hiding his hands in his jacket pockets. 

“For some, yes.” he remarks. “Others, however have placed a complaint. Apparently, Mrs Lawson across the way heard a dog barking this evening.” 

Alex freezes and forces herself to relax, to let the panic slip away from her wide eyes. 

“Oh.” Alex says, feigning surprise as she keeps hold on the grocery bag with Gertrude's food in it close to her chest, fighting the urge to fidget with her sleeves to hide the nerves. “Well that’s strange.” 

“Indeed.” Mr Edge replies, looking over Alex suspiciously. “You wouldn’t know anything about a dog on the premises would you, miss Danvers?” 

Alex’s closes her lips tightly together, shaking her head slowly. 

“No, sorry. They aren’t permitted on the lease so I'm not sure why anyone would get one.” Alex points out, holding her landlord’s gaze with a practiced confidence. 

Mr Edge nods even though his dark eyes are screaming in frustration. 

“Of course.” he agrees, not really looking like he believes Alex, but not having enough proof to do anything. “Well, I suppose it must have been a mistake.” 

“Must have been.” Alex chuckles out, side stepping the suspicious man to get to the door. “Have a good night Mr Edge.” 

“You as well Miss Danvers.” he mutters as he sulks off. 

Alex nods and smiles, rushing to shove her key into the lock and push the door open, sighing in relief as she shuts it behind herself and slumps against the wood. She comes to walk into the kitchen when small little taps sound against the wooden floors of her apartment stop her. The vet student turns around and smiles happily, seeing Gertrude running out of the living room to see who came in. 

“Hi my beautiful girl.” Alex coos quietly, shuffling around the puppy as she darts between her legs to put the groceries on the kitchen counter. 

She bends down and welcomes the black and white border collie in her arms, raining her mottled face with kisses. 

“It was a close call today, Gertie. You can’t yap whenever people pass by in front of the building. No matter how pretty the women are, okay?” Alex sighs jokingly, scratching her puppy’s fluffy ears. 

Gertrude looks up at her with a semblance of a smile, licking her chin. Alex can’t help but smile back, hiding her face in her fur. 

“Hmm, speaking of pretty women. You have no idea who I saw today, baby.’’ Alex shakes her head at Gertrude “I know, I’ve never talked about women before, but that one...was something.’’ 

The pup whines at her in response and cuddles further into her arms. Alex laughs shortly as she gets up with her, carrying the puppy to the kitchen. 

“No, I don’t actually have a chance with her. She probably has a girlfriend. And I can’t risk not focusing on my degree.’’ Alex argues as she imitates Gertrude’s pout. “It’ll be fine, Gertie. I got you, don’t I girl?’’ she coos, kissing the puppies head. “I got you.” 

 

 

It’s been a pretty good day all in all, Maggie still smiling over her encounter with the cute girl at the grocery store… Alex. It’s a name Maggie finds herself trying hard to remember for the future. 

“Come here Jack.” Maggie calls gently, pouring some food and water into a bowl and setting it down under the kitchen counter. 

The puppy beams and skids across the floor to reach the food, Maggie chuckling and shaking her head as she takes the lid off a beer and leans against the countertop. 

She finds herself thinking of the vet student from earlier, something about her making the gears in Maggie’s head spin a certain way. Because she was beautiful, obviously, but not in a presumptuous way that Maggie is used to the girls she knows having. She's adorable with the inherent rambling Maggie is replaying in her memory, right down to the slight stammering of the words. 

Maggie gets a little lost in the thoughts if she’s honest, so she startles a little when jack brushes against her legs and yawns up at her. She checks her watch and frowns, grumbling about work tomorrow. 

“Come on then, you can sleep on the couch.” Maggie reasons, walking to the living room with jack on her heels and patting on the couch cushions. 

Jack obliges and jumps up, resting his head on his paws and looking up at Maggie sleepily. 

“Night buddy.” Maggie mumbles, switching the light off as she heads down the hall to her room. 

She tugs her clothes off and pulls on some shorts and a shirt, climbing into bed with a sigh as her body sinks into the mattress.  

Her head swims with hazel eyes and shopping carts, Maggie settling comfortably at the tired thought of seeing the girl... seeing Alex again when she sleeps, but she jolts upright when something lands on her leg, Maggie fumbling for the light and groaning at the sight of jack staring up at her.  

“Hey! I said the couch.” she argues, climbing back out of bed and picking Jack up. “Steph will kill me if you’re in here.” Maggie reasons, putting the puppy down in the hall. 

He looks up at her sadly, tail tucked in close and ears drooping. Maggie may be strong at times, but she’s not immune to this. She briefly massages her temples, thinking it over before deciding it should be fine. 

“One night.” she compromises, holding a finger up to Jack. “You got it? One.” 

Jack yaps at her and skids across the floor to the bed again, hopping up and burrowing into the blankets at the foot of the bed. 

“Well shit.” Maggie mumbles, climbing back under the covers and reaching for the light again and turning it off. 

 

 

The next day at the firehouse between two calls, Maggie finally finds time to call up the number on Jack’s collar, but it doesn’t go the way she expects it to. 

“Yeah. No, it's quite alright, thanks for your help.” Maggie sighs, hanging up her phone with a slight grumble as Jack winces at the noise in response. 

Maggie takes a deep breath and close her eyes, letting the arriving fire truck in the garage soothe her. At her first year as a recruit, Maggie had had trouble to adjust with all the noises, loud sirens and men laughing. As a kid, she was pretty quiet, kept mostly to herself, reading her books and taking care of the garden with her mom. 

As a teenager of course, she had felt the need for adrenaline and had done a few stupid things like stealing cars’ radios and selling them. She used to sneak into parties even though she was underage just so she could taste a few cheap beers and make out with some girl. 

So, the first time she entered a firehouse, she thought that maybe it wasn’t for her after all. The camaraderie between the men were a foreign concept to her, but the moment she was transferred to this very firehouse, where chief Jonn handles a tight crew. She knew she was made for this. And with the right people, it was the best job in the world. 

“Why do you two looks so glum?” James questions, shuffling over to the pair and petting a more than receptive Jack, breaking Maggie out of her thoughts. 

Maggie huffs as Jack closes his eyes happily under the large man’s hand.  

“Turns out Jack’s owner was an elderly lady who passed away last week and she has no family for me to return him to.” she explains. 

James nods solemnly as Maggie rubs the soft white fur on Jack’s head.  

“That’s not very nice going into the Christmas season is it buddy?” he coos to the puppy.  

“Not at all.” Maggie agrees, a little perplexed by her instinct to hold the puppy a little closer. 

James seems to notice her move and hesitation. 

“You could keep him.” James reasons with a shrug. 

Maggie furrows her brows, eyeing James in shock at the idea. 

“What? Oh no.. I don't think.. it’s me, I can't look after a puppy... no way.” Maggie argues, avoiding the way Jack is looking up at her. 

“Why?” James asks, folding his arms as he raises an eyebrow. 

Maggie shrugs slightly, avoiding her friend’s gaze and her ‘temporary’ puppy in her lap. Because it is what this is supposed to be, temporary. 

“Well I mean... I'm not. I just can’t okay. I'll figure out what to do with him, find him a good home.” Maggie reasons, scratching behind Jack’s ear to keep him from wriggling around in her arms. 

The puppy relaxes instantly, cuddling into Maggie’s bomber jacket and mewling at her touch. Maggie frowns, feeling her insides melt at how adorable the white Labrador is. 

“I think you already have found the perfect home.” James chuckles out. 

Maggie gives him a less than amused expression in response, her stomach churning at the word home. Home is right here in this firehouse with the guys. Other than them and these walls, she wouldn’t have a family, much less a home. She keeps moving into houses and selling them for a reason.  

The less time she spends in the houses, the less there’s a chance she would want to settle down and wish for people to fill the rooms. Because that wish always lead to deception and heartbreak. She learned it the hard way. It's why she wants to wrap it up at her current house because she’s starting to get just a little too comfortable in it. 

“It’s not that bad.’’ James insists ‘’And Steph likes dogs, right?”  

Maggie lift an eyebrow at the mention of her girlfriend liking dogs. Steph had been rather clear and manifested her distaste for animals, especially dogs, pretty quickly. 

“No, she doesn't.” Maggie clarifies. “Besides I’ve only been seeing her since the photoshoot last month, it’s too soon to be getting pets together.” Maggie scoffs. 

James looks at her with surprised and wary eyes, sitting back in his chair. 

“I don't trust girls who don't like dogs.” Winn voices as he comes around the side of the fire truck, a half-eaten sandwich balancing precariously in one of his hands. “Who doesn't like dogs? They’re the best!” 

James tips his head back toward Winn with a welcoming smile and the driver winks back at him. 

“I gotta agree with sandwich boy there.” James notes, shooting Winn a grin at the playful name. “You’ve been with this girl like a month already, do you like her or not?” 

Maggie rolls her eyes at their complicity and redirects her attention back to a sleepy Jack. 

“You know I don't do commitment very well.” Maggie sighs. “Way too many expectations that no one really wants to keep.”  

Winn drops in a chair beside her and swats her shoulder. 

“Hey!” Winn exclaims. “James and I are perfectly happy. Going on four years now Sawyer. And I gotta tell you it ain’t all that bad having someone say ‘I love you’ in the morning.” 

James reaches out, putting a hand behind the driver’s neck in a gentle squeeze. Both men smile at each other and Maggie wants to barf no matter how happy she is for them. 

“Saying and meaning are two different things.” Maggie counters, recalling all the times she heard her parents say the words but never act on them. “I'm not wasting my time on something that doesn't exist.” 

“Love?” James questions, baffled and clearly not comfortable with the conversation right now. 

Maggie isn’t comfortable either, this is exactly why relationships aren’t really her thing, talking isn’t really a gift of hers and she hates lying. How could she explain to them that love just didn’t seem to be in the cards for her? That from all the girls she’s been with, none of them made her believe in it? 

“Just a chemical, boys. You can let yourselves get caught up in it all you like, but me? I’ve got my job, I’ve got my house and someone to call if I want.” Maggie reasons, holding Jack securely to her chest as she starts to head off to escape this awkward conversation she’s gotten caught in. 

She hears the bewildered whispering of the boys behind her as she leaves, but the thing that really makes her force back the slight idea she may be wrong about everything she's just said, is the way Jack shuffles around in her arms and puts a paw firmly on her chest and smiles up at her. 

“Don’t you start now too.” She grumbles. “You better start being on my side if you wanna sleep inside you rascal.”  

 

 

Alex takes another large spoon of ice cream and gulps in down. Gertrude’s ear twitches as the dog looks up at her owner. Alex just scoffs at her, turning the volume down slightly on the TV during the ad break. 

‘’I know, it’s Friday and I’m pathetically watching a mountain lion documentary and eating ice cream for dinner. No need to judge, Gertie. You’re no better than me.’’ Alex berates. 

Gertrude seems to snort at that and looks back toward the screen, Alex frowning as she scratches her dog’s ears out of habit. But lifting her eyes up, she rolls them at the sight of her little sister on the TV. Just to amuse herself, Alex increases the volume. 

‘’Are you looking for a new house? Christmas is a great time to buy.’’ Kara says half-seriously, half-joyfully at the camera, her blonde hair falling beautifully over her shoulder. 

Alex snickers at the publicity Cat Grant encourages her sister to do and chuckles when she reaches out to her ringing phone. Seeing Kara’s name, she answers quickly. 

‘’Hey sis, I’m currently watching you on my TV.’’ Alex starts before being interrupted by a knock at the door ‘'Hang on, Kar.’' 

Alex rushes to pick up Gertrude, hiding her in her closet along with her bowl and shuffles cautiously toward her apartment door. Opening it worriedly, her shoulders sag out of relief, her little sister beaming up at her. Alex puts down her cell phone on the table beside the door and shakes her head at Kara’s shenanigans, pulling her into a hug. 

‘’Thank God, I thought it was my landlord.’’ Alex sighs. 

Kara pulls back and laughs, rubbing Alex's arms. 

‘’Sorry for scaring you, sis.’’ she looks at her up and down ‘’Did you forget we were going out for dinner tonight?’’ 

Alex scoffs and shakes her head, letting her sister in. 

‘’I didn’t forget.’’ Alex lies ‘’You’re just early.’’ 

Kara walks toward Alex’s closet and picks up the border collie, kissing the pout off of her face. 

‘’I’m always early.’’ Kara comments before talking to Gertrude in a baby voice. 

Alex rolls her eyes at the blatant lie. 

‘’Right. Just let me change.’’ She mumbles.  

The eldest Danvers sister walks into her bedroom and opens her closet, eyeing the few dresses she has. Her thoughts are interrupted and she laughs hearing Kara tell Gertrude she wishes she could bring her home but that her four cats would eat her alive. 

‘’I thought you and Adam had three cats.’' Alex calls out. 

Choosing a navy sweater and black jeans instead, Alex kicks her black boots towards her bed. She picks her favourite bra and changes out of her sweats. Kara steps into the room and smiles at her sister. 

‘’Yeah, we did, but we adopted another one last week. We named him Streaky.’’ Kara smiles and kisses Gertrude's head before putting her down. 

The dog jumps up onto the bed and makes herself at home as Alex reaches out to Kara and squeezes her shoulder. 

‘’You’re just like dad.’’ Alex says quietly. 

Kara nods slowly, hiding her hands in the pocket of her blue jacket. 

‘’I know.’’ she whispers softly before walking out of the room. ‘’Let’s go.’’ 

 

 

Maggie stands in front of her wall and examines the three white paint samples. She turns toward Jack, the puppy lying comfortably on her favourite chair. 

‘’Tell me Jack, the store was out of ‘Thousand Suns’, so which one seem to be the warmest white.’’ Maggie asks, thinking back on Alex’s advice at the grocery store. 

Jack lifts an eyebrow and looks at her with bored eyes, letting out a small huff. Maggie imitates him and scoffs back. 

‘’You’re staying here for free, buddy, the least you could do is make yourself useful until I find someone to take you in.’’ Maggie replies before putting her paintbrush down at the sound of the bell ringing. 

She walks to her front door and smiles at Stephanie as it swings open, the blonde woman smirking at her cockily and leaning a hand on the threshold. 

‘’Wow, Steph, you look really good in that dress.’’ Maggie compliments, eyeing the low cut dark green fabric. 

The photographer smiles and winks at her, entering the house. 

‘’I’m glad you like it, it’s Gucci. They let me to keep it at my last photoshoot.’’ She informs Maggie. ‘’At least, they didn’t say anything when I took it.” 

Maggie smiles tightly and shrugs, not quite caring where the dress came from as she shoves her hands into her pockets. 

‘’What was the ad for?’’ Maggie asks, trying to be interested and knowing she should make an effort to get to know the girl she's dating. 

‘’Toothpaste, I think.’’ Stephanie answers after a few seconds. 

Maggie waits for an elaboration but quite quickly understands that while photography is the woman’s passion, the modelling part of her career is just a way to get some extra money. So Maggie walks closer to her girlfriend and circles her waist with her arms. 

‘’Well, you look amazing in it.’’ Maggie tells her sweetly with a grin. 

Steph blushes and looks away bashfully before leaning down to kiss Maggie. 

‘’Amazing was what I was going for, so mission accomplished.’’ She says jokingly. 

They share another kiss before Stephanie pulls away, walking into the living room to inspect the wall with the samples. 

‘’Oh, doesn’t seem to have any progress here.’’ Steph points out. 

Maggie frowns, not liking the judgement in her girlfriend’s voice. 

‘’Well, I didn’t have a lot of time to work on it and I can’t seem to choose the perfect colour. Which one would you pick?’’ Maggie asks, wanting to include Steph in this. 

The woman looks at them and chuckles, shrugging. 

‘’They’re all white.’’ She scoffs. 

Maggie shakes her head, pointing out the first one to the left. 

‘’No, that’s Angel’s wing which is brighter, then we got Cloud’s dust which has a bit touch of grey and the last one is snow kiss and it’s more of a soft white but with no cream in it.’’ Maggie explains ‘’I’m looking for something warmer.’' 

Steph looks at up incredulously and kisses her cheek. 

‘’Seriously, they’re all white baby.’’ The woman insists before turning around at the sound of Jack yapping at her. 

Maggie winces, bracing herself for what's coming. Steph looks at the dog then Maggie, shocked and a little uncomfortable. 

‘’When did you get a dog?’’ she asks somewhat calmly. 

Maggie smiles at Jack rolling himself in her chair. 

‘’Ah, well, he sort of got me. I rescued him from a cat and he's been sticking to me like glue ever since.’’ Maggie explains. ‘’I’m looking for a family to adopt him.’’ 

She looks down sadly as soon as the words leave her mouth but she shakes her head, recalling all the reasons why she shouldn’t keep him. 

‘’Good, just put him on Craigslist or Petfinder or something. Get rid of it.’’ Steph chuckles drily. 

Maggie frowns at the harsh statement, turning toward her girlfriend and tipping her head to the side. 

‘’I’m surprised you really don’t like dogs. I would think you’d be an animal lover since your dad owns a pet supply store.’’ Maggie points out. 

Steph looks afar at the mention of her dad and slightly calms down. 

‘’That’s my dad's thing. I personally think animals are a nuisance. You have to clean up after it, feed it. What if you want to go to Italy on a whim and you gotta find someone to look after it?’’ she reasons blandly. 

Maggie chooses to not point out that if that were to happen, she’d have the guys at the firehouse to look after Jack and lets Steph keep going with her ranting.  

‘’They’re like kids but worse because they never grow up and move away.’’ Stephanie finishes. 

Maggie snickers at that and nods, knowing not to ask her opinions about kids. She, herself, didn’t know if she wanted them. Well, she didn’t want to have anyone depending on her. Having a kid was the biggest responsibility ever and disappointing them was too easy. She's fine just living this life. 

‘’Well, he’s only here until I find him a new home.’’ Maggie reaffirms slowly. 

Steph turns and grips her arms, pulling Maggie close. She kisses her briefly before pulling back. 

‘’That’s what I like about you. Good times and no strings attached. Now, please go get dressed, I got us reservations at DeAngelo.’’ Steph states excitedly. 

Maggie changes her wince into a smile, wishing she could stay here, paint the wall and order pizza. 

‘’Fancy.’’ she says a little sarcastically, walking out of the living room. 

‘’I want you to meet my friends, I know you’ll just love them.’' Stephanie calls out as Maggie rushes up the stairs. 

Maggie somehow doubts it but knows she would make the effort anyway and smiles as she hears Jack grumble at Steph. 

 

 

Alex, Kara and her husband Adam arrive at the chic restaurant and Alex nods, berating herself for not choosing one of her dresses in the end. Truth is, she wasn’t in the mood to be in this kind of place and would have rather stay home with Gertrude and a pizza, but her sister had insisted. And Alex loves and misses her sister deeply, so who was she to refuse?  

Adam is welcomed by a tall dark-haired man and happily shakes his hand as a young twenty-ish boy takes off Kara’s jacket. 

‘’Adam Grant, my man! I am honoured to receive you tonight. I am still in debt for the amazing lodge your lovely wife has found me.’’ The host gushes. 

Kara giggles at the praise while Adam smiles proudly at her. 

‘'Pleasure was all mine, Mr. DeAngelo. I simply hope you create new memories over there in the holidays.’’ Kara assures with a smile. 

Alex smiles politely, once again impressed by her sister’s skills and patience. Somebody taps her shoulder and Alex turns around to meet the young man, waiting expectedly with a hand out. 

‘'May I take your...puffy coat, ma’am?’’ the boy asks with scrunched up eyebrows. 

Alex manages to not snicker at the judgemental gaze, shaking off her navy winter jacket. She wouldn’t get cold just to look pretty, hell no. She gives the man her coat and follows Kara and Adam.  

‘’Right this way.’’ Me DeAngelo motions for them ‘'For you, we have reserved a beautiful table.’’ 

 

As soon as they're settled down with a glass of white wine in hand, Kara announces to Alex they should go shopping next Sunday for her birthday.  

‘’Oh, Sunday? Ugh, that’s not gonna work for me. Monday is my Anatomy final. It’s worth 60% of my grades so...’’ Alex explains before she's cut off by Kara. 

‘’So, bring your books.’’ Her sister replies. ‘'You never do anything for yourself. We’re going, end of the story.’’ 

Alex licks her lips and nods slowly, knowing she wouldn’t get herself out of this. Kara smiles knowingly at her and takes a sip of wine. 

‘’Let’s catch up, sis. It’s been too long since we last saw each other.’’ Kara says, pouting at her. 

Alex sighs, knowing she hasn’t been the greatest sister lately, focusing mainly on her classes and Gertie. 

‘’I’ve been good, Kar. Things are good. School is great. Work is great.’’ Alex answers vaguely. 

Kara shakes her head at her and smiles happily. 

‘’I can’t believe I’m gonna be calling you Dr. Danvers soon! Just like mom and dad. They’re so proud.’’ Kara beams. 

Alex looks down at the mention of her parents. It's always a touchy subject. 

‘’Not exactly like mom and dad.’’ Alex comments, emptying her glass of wine. 

Kara reaches out, taking her hand while Adam rubs his wife’s shoulder in comfort and Alex has to put her glass down, ignoring the part of her that wishes to have that. 

‘’Hey, don’t do that. Don’t belittle yourself. You sacrificed your medical program the first time around to work and take care of me while mom was looking after dad at the hospital. Now, you know what you want to do and worked so hard to get it. We’re all so proud of you, Alex. _I’m_ proud of you and I love you.’’ Kara resolves with so much sincerity that Alex almost starts crying. 

Adam chuckle softly and kiss Kara’s cheek before he lifts his glass towards his sister-in-law. 

‘’What she said, Alex. You worked hard, it’s paying off and we want to be there for you as much as we can.’’ Adam said before smiling up at her ‘’Now, are you getting out at all? Have you met someone?’’ 

Alex leans back against the chair and scratches her eyebrow, knowing she should have prepared herself for those questions. 

‘’Oh, I don’t, I haven’t really...not until I graduate...’’ Alex tries to say when Kara chimes in, shaking her head. 

‘’My sister still has this silly rule no love life until she has her diploma in hands and starts to practices.’’ Kara grumbles. 

Alex looks away and exhales. She had explained herself a thousand times and it still wasn’t enough. It didn’t matter to her if she wanted to wait until Caitlin, Vasquez and her had rented a place so they could start their own vet office.  

‘’It’s not a silly rule. I just want to finish what I started and I can’t afford any distractions right now.’’ Alex says again, a little tired of justifying herself. 

Alex squints at Adam, the man nodding slowly to himself, lost in his mind while Kara wears a contemplative smile.  

‘’No!’’ Alex exclaims knowingly, drawing the word. 

Kara leans on the table and squeezes her husband’s bicep. 

‘’Adam has this friend Julia. She’s a dentist and is really beautiful.’’ Kara tell her while Adam tries to appear encouraging ‘’You don’t have to marry her, just go on one date and see what happens.’’ 

Alex rolls her eyes and shook her head. 

‘’Do you remember what happened the last time you set me up with one of Adam’s friend?’' Alex recalls to her sister annoyingly. 

Kara opens her mouth and scoffs, waving away the memory. 

‘’That was not our fault. How were we suppose to know she was married? She wasn’t wearing any rings.’’ Kara argues weakly. 

Alex nods at her while Adam winces, recalling his not so finest moment. 

‘’You ask, sis!’’ Alex replies ‘'If you weren’t so intent on matching me with every single queer lady you meet, you’d get to know this kind of thing. 

Kara lifts her hands up, hating it when Alex takes this knowing tone with her. 

‘’Well, Julia is not married.’’ Kara assures. 

‘’She's never even had a serious relationship.’’ Adam adds before shutting up when Kara swats his shoulder. 

Alex frowns at them both and snickers. 

‘’That seem rather tempting.’’ She says with sarcasm. 

Kara sighs and takes both of Alex’s hands in her own. 

‘’Come on, we could go on a double date. Take the nerves off a bit. We just want you to be as happy as we are.’' She entreats. 

Alex looks afar, not knowing how to get herself out of this. Her eyes catch the exit and she wonder if she could make a run for it when a familiar brunette in a black button shirt and a black jacket comes in, walking up the stairs. Oh my god, she looks so good. Alex swallows and already hates herself for the idea she just had. But it’s already coming out of her mouth before she can think about it. 

‘’Actually,’’ Alex starts, stopping Kara’s plan to call Julia ‘’I’m seeing someone.’’ 

Adam laugh and empty his glass happily as Kara gasp. 

‘’What?!? Tell me more about her!’’ she practically squeals, pushing her glasses back in place. 

Alex accept the waiter’s refill of her wine thankfully to buy herself a few seconds. 

‘’Well, she’s a firefighter, she saved the life of a woman who works at the market. Her oven...exploded’’ Alex says, mimicking the sound and stops herself, realizing how ridiculous she is right now. ‘’She...yeah.’’ 

Kara almost screams out of happiness; her hands clasp together and Alex is thankful her sister didn’t just start clapping. 

‘’Why didn’t you just tell us?’’ she pouts while Adam tries to calm her down. 

‘’Because of this, you guys. You get so excited like you want to officiate my wedding. We just started dating.’’ Alex says, shutting off the part that wishes it was actually true. ‘'I don’t even know if it’s gonna work out.’’ 

Adam smiles at her genuinely. 

‘’This is great news.’’ he says, pulling Kara close him. 

The older Danvers sister gulps down the guilt, knowing that Kara simply worries about her. But that isn’t her job. 

‘’We have to meet her.’’ Kara adds with a blinding smile, her blue eyes shining. 

‘’No!’' Alex almost shouts ‘’No-Not yet.’’ she manages to save herself. 

Kara chuckles and shrugs. 

‘’Why not?’’ she questions innocently. 

‘’She’s really busy with...fire...stuff.’’ Alex make up poorly, wincing at her own excuse. ‘’Her work is important and she has a dog.’’ 

Kara and Adam laugh at that, her sister leaning toward her with a twinkle in her eyes. 

‘’Tell us everything, leave nothing out and speak slowly’’ Kara decides, lifting a hand to order a bottle of champagne. 

                                       

 

Maggie’s cheeks were hurting her from how long she’s been pretending to smile and enjoying the conversation. Stephanie’s friends, Imra and Mike, are this dashing couple and Maggie isn't the type of person to judge quickly, so she does her best to get to know them through their plain jokes. 

‘’So, Mike here is in the stock market.’’ Stephanie points out the man with black rimmed glasses. ‘’He made a bundle last year.’’ 

Maggie nods slowly, stopping herself from voicing out her opinion about people that work in that field. 

‘’I manage a private hedge fund.’’ Mike says with a proud smile but fatigue in his eyes. 

Maggie can sort of tell that while he is good enough at his job and appreciates the money that comes with it, he isn't exactly happy.  

Imra stands on her tiptoe to kiss her boyfriend’s cheek in a comforting manner and the man smiles at her. 

‘’So, Stephanie told us you’re a firefighter, it must be a lot of fun.’’ Mike adds with a grin. 

Steph and Imra share a chuckle and Maggie drink her champagne uncomfortably. She contents herself to just nod, knowing that many people aren’t actually aware of the work she does as a firefighter. 

‘’Yeah, it’s a blast.’’ Maggie answers with a tight smile. 

She can feel her girlfriend’s arm tighten around her waist and Maggie finds herself wishing Chief Jonn would just call and order her to come in for an emergency. Heck, she’d go in for a cat stuck in a tree at this point. 

‘’I admire you.’’ Imra says, drawing out the word ‘'I want you to know that.’’ 

Maggie tips her head to the side, having no idea how to respond to that. 

‘’Thank you.’’ she simply says, a bit confused. 

Stephanie smiles down at her with a proud smile. 

‘’Maggie buys and restores homes too. So, she’s in real estate.’’ her girlfriend adds. 

‘’Oh, how exciting!’’ Imra chimes, pointing her glass toward the brunette. 

The woman frowns at that, wondering why that seems to be more important than the work she does at the firehouse, for the city and its people. 

‘’A woman with many hidden talents.’’ Mike jokes at her with a polite smile and a friendly wink. 

‘’Yeah, I’m not at all what I seem.’’ Maggie replies tightly, thinking that walking into a fire was less bad than this thing. 

 

 

‘’So, Adam and I were invited to the Mayor’s house on December 23rd.’’ Kara starts before Adam chimes in. 

 ‘’Yeah, it’s a fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital and we just happen to have four tickets.’’ He offers. 

Alex’s eyes become wide at the not so subtle invitation as Kara insist that she and her date go with them. Panic settles in pretty fast. 

‘’That’s more than two weeks away, I don’t even know if we’re still gonna be dating. I mean it’s so early on our relationsh...’' 

‘’What’s her name?’’ Kara cut her off curiously. 

Alex lean forward, surprised by the supposedly easy question. She pushes her hair back nervously, trying to recall her conversation with the firefighter. She clears her throat when she realizes she doesn’t actually know her first name. 

‘’Her name? Her...name...is...I call her...brown eyes.’’ Alex declares, laughing shortly ‘’We have this little name we call each other...and she calls me...Alex.’’  

Alex nods repeatedly, wanting the earth to swallow her whole. She is certain that Kara would call her out on the bullshit, but her sweet sister, who simply wants her happiness, giggles, her eyes full of excitement. 

“Oh! That’s so cute! She must be adorable I bet, don’t you think, honey?” Kara asks, Adam nodding cheerfully in agreement. 

“Yeah. She is.” Alex smiles out, surprised a little by the honesty in her tone. It actually throws her for a second and Alex cant help feeling a little off centre. 

She misses the time she was closer to her little sister, that time where it would have been impossible to lie to her. That time when Alex was the big sister. She still doesn’t understand how at some point along the way, the roles got reversed. Maybe it's because Alex stopped University to work to help pay for Kara’s school while their mom was working her ass off to pay for the hospital’s bills. Alex doesn’t regret anything though, knowing all those years of hard work and grief had been worth it when her dad woke up from the coma he had been in for more than seven years. 

Alex clears her throat, feeling the pressure of the past few years settling in on her chest.  

“Do you guys wanna get us some desserts? I'm just gonna get some fresh air.” Alex states, already getting up before Kara nods and leans over Adam’s menu to choose together, eyeing her sister worriedly from the corner of her eye. 

Alex weaves through the tables, grateful once the fake orange light gives way to the softer blue and white from the moon outside and she can breathe clearly. 

She sits on one of the benches, running her hand absentmindedly over the wood beneath her fingers as she tries to clear her head of the weight of her past and the mess she put herself into. It works for a while, until a voice Alex could never forget breaks the facade in her head.  

“Hey Danvers, glad I am actually seeing you around.” The off-duty firefighter smiles, the soft light and twinkle in her eyes making Alex’s heart skip a beat... maybe ten. 

Alex knows that she's caught in a whole different kind of mess now. But she's not really surprised that she doesn’t mind when the lieutenant is smiling at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wouldn't be a Hallmark Christmas story without a sort of bitchy girlfriend, would it?


	3. Chapter 3

Maggie manages to walk away from Stephanie and her friends, desperately needing some fresh air. She’s been eyeing the balcony door for a while and maybe she mentally formulated a plan to escape. But for now, being a couple of minutes away from them would suffice.  

She crosses the glass door and sits down on the too chic and not comfortable enough bench and exhales loudly, deep in thought. Looking past the railing, Maggie thinks back on some silly tunes Winn constantly sings at the firehouse to try relax a little. Her attention is pulled away when a gust of wind moves the woman’s hair sitting a few feet in front of her. 

Maggie frowns, leaning forward, inspecting the jaw-length dark hair with red highlight in it. The lieutenant recognizes her right away, the pale skin and straight nose tugging a wayward string in her mind down to her stomach. It's the woman from the market. Her name is Alex Danvers, she recalls. Because of course, she does. She spent a whole night memorizing it after their encounter. 

“Hey Danvers.’’ Maggie can’t help but speak up, wishing the other woman actually remembers her ‘’Glad I am actually seeing you around.’’ 

The figure freezes for a second, her long fingers playing with the cuff of her navy sweater. She slowly turns toward her with an awkward smile. 

‘’Hi.’’ she answers clearly, her shoulders sagging at the sudden lack of tension in them. 

‘’Hi.’’ Maggie repeats slowly with her first genuine smile of the night. ‘’The, uh, grocery store?’’ Maggie point at her to recall her where they met, hoping the young woman remembers. 

Alex turns around on her chair fully with a shy smile and it confuses Maggie how the stranger immediately puts her at ease. 

‘’Yes.’’ Alex says, pushing a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear. ‘’How’s Jack?’’ 

Maggie chuckles at the question and squints, noticing again the comfy sweater Alex is wearing and she can't help but think the woman is cute in it. 

‘’You remembered his name?’’ Maggie says with a grin. 

Alex looks down at her hands for a second. 

‘’Of course. You found him a home yet?’’ she asks. 

Maggie smiles softly at the genuine sincerity. She then recalls that Alex is a vet student. She probably only cares about Jack’s well-being. 

‘’No, not yet.’’ Maggie answers with a sigh, not wanting to admit Jack’s brown eyes made his way into her heart. ‘’Who are you hiding from?’' she decides to change the subject. 

She wonders if perhaps the other woman also has a partner in the restaurant and the thought makes her gulp. 

‘’Oh, no I’m not...hiding.’’ Alex tells her, not convincingly. ‘’I’m just getting some fresh air.’’ 

Maggie tips her head to try to meet her eyes and Alex finally looks up, her beautiful brown eyes making the firefighter smile. 

‘’What does it say about the people we’re here with if we have to escape them to catch a breath?’’ Maggie questions her, getting a bit ahead of herself. 

Alex seems unfazed by the question and looks past Maggie’s shoulders, probably looking at her loved one. 

‘’That you love them too much.’’ the vet student offers with a crooked smile. 

Maggie’s heart somewhat drops in her stomach, wondering who was the lucky person that makes the woman smile like that. She thinks back of her own relationship with Stephanie and the night they’re having. 

‘’Or too little.’’ Maggie mutters, focusing her gaze on her black shoes a little. 

Alex sighs quietly.

‘’I’m here with my little sister and her husband.’’ She informs, playing with the cuffs of her blue sweater ‘’And I love them a lot but she can be a little overprotective.’' 

Maggie lifts her head back up at the information and nods, smiling softly at her, not understanding the relief swooping in her belly. 

‘’Well, I’m here with a date and her friends...’’ Maggie informs her too with a shrug. 

‘’Oh, you have a girlfriend?’’ Alex says with thin lips and wide brown eyes. 

The firefighter frowns at her, not quite getting the woman’s tone. Is she against ladies luving ladies? Or is it something else? 

‘’Well, girlfriend implies a possible future.’’ Maggie says, getting up from her seat to sit closer to Alex. ‘’She’s someone I’m dating.’’ the lieutenant clarifies, studying the student’s reaction. 

Alex ducks her head to hide her smile and her blush as Maggie chooses the chair in front of her. 

‘’I don’t really believe in the whole happy-ever-after fairy tale ending.’’ Maggie says, deciding to go straight to the point. 

Alex’s eyebrows reach her hairline, a soft grin appearing on her pink lips. 

‘’Well, I believe in true love.’’ Alex retorts. 

It’s Maggie’s turn to be surprised, the woman leaning forward, putting her arms on the table. 

‘’Oh, are you married?’’ Maggie asks, dread coming back to clench around her heart. 

Alex shakes her head and almost snickers, her eyes looking intently at Maggie’s shirt and jacket. The firefighter wonders what she’s thinking about. 

‘’No, no, I’m just focusing on my education right now.’’ she says, scratching her eyebrow ‘’I’ll think about dating after I graduate and get a job.’' 

Maggie notices how Alex seems uncomfortable with the subject but couldn’t help but push. 

‘’What if you meet someone before then?’' Maggie questions gently, but entirely sure why the burning desire to ask has suddenly taken over. 

Alex lifts her eyes, meeting hers, looking at her half-curiously and half-panicking. She finally relaxes and laughs softly. 

‘’You can’t find what you’re not looking for.’’ Alex replies calmly with a shrug. 

Maggie imitates the movement and nods slowly, thinking about the woman’s statement. 

‘’You know what I just learned?’’ the student adds shyly, continuing when Maggie raises an eyebrow.  

“Mountain lions actually take a leap of faith in love. When a male finds a female he’s attracted to, he jumps in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. Then, he climbs to the highest peak he can find, starts howling and professing his love for her.’’ Alex explains, a hint of awe in her voice and bright eyes. 

The firefighter listens to her intently, surprised by the fact, though it's a bit too straight for her taste. 

‘’Nerd.’’ Maggie chuckles, teasing the other woman gently. 

Alex briefly meets her eyes and laughs, conceding the remark with a shrug. 

‘’Yeah and if she joins him at the top of the mountain, they’ll be together for life.’’ Alex finishes, looking down. ’’Very romantic.’' 

Maggie stays quiet for a second, thinking about how fascinating the animal kingdom is and how easier it seems to be without the whole feelings' ordeal people push themselves through.  

‘’How does he know who to choose?’’ Maggie asks curiously, her eyes never leaving the pretty woman’s face. 

‘’Instincts.’’ Alex answers automatically with a confident smile. 

The lieutenant nods, then shakes her head. 

‘’What if I don’t trust instincts, what if I need a guarantee?’’ Maggie adds, understanding the other woman’s confusion since her job is based on instincts. 

‘’I don’t think love has any guarantees, I think you just have to have faith and believe it will last.’’ Alex tells her honestly. 

And in that moment, for a second, Maggie believes it, believes the girl before her. She almost lets herself drown in her brown eyes, but fear and doubt settles in, recalling a small detail. 

‘’Well, I should probably get back to my date and her pretentious friends.’’ Maggie announces, despite her wishes to stay here and talk with Alex all night. ‘’Good luck with your sister and her husband.’’ 

The woman seems startled by the sudden end of their conversation, nodding quickly as Maggie stands and heads back to the safety of the restaurant before she gives into the urge to stay out here on the balcony with Alex.  

‘’Good luck.’’ The student answers before grumbling under her breath. ‘’Bye, brown eyes.’’ 

Maggie stops in her tracks, a grin forming on her lips. She turns around and catches Alex’s wide eyes full of panic. 

‘’I just said that out loud, didn’t I?’’ Alex says mortified, with regret in her tone. 

Maggie simply smirks and nods. 

‘’Kind of did.’’ she confirms ‘’See you around, Danvers.’’ 

As she crosses the door, she looks back seeing Alex bury her head in her hands, muttering about how embarrassed she is and how it couldn’t get worse. So Maggie smiles a little when catches the sight of the restaurant's owner along with a blond woman and a man joining Alex on the balcony with a cake. They all start singing and Maggie almost feel bad for the vet student, wishing she had known it was her birthday. 

 

Alex sighs as she lets her back close her front door, tugging off her jacket and shoes and tossing them near the entrance as she heads to the kitchen for a drink. Gertie grumbles slightly for being woken up before trotting over to Alex when she doesn't immediately give her any attention. 

Alex berates herself a little and bends down to pick the puppy up, scratching behind her ears as she holds the warm bundle of fur close. 

“Hi girl. Sorry I’ve had a bit of a night.” Alex explains quietly, Gertie whining in her ear in response. 

Alex nods and sinks into a chair at the table. 

“Yeah I saw her. She looked... breathtaking.” Alex murmurs out distractedly. ‘’We even talked for a little while.’’ 

Gertrude paws at her chest and Alex shakes her head at the little huff the puppy let’s out at her. 

“No, it doesn't matter.” Alex grumbles. “She has a girlfriend. And even if she didn't... she doesn't believe in love anyway.” she reasons, the words ringing in her memory a little sadly. “So it’s just you and me Gertie. Like always.” 

The student walks to her bedroom with her dog in her arms, half-wishing she wouldn't dream of brown eyes tonight.

 

 

Maggie groans as she rolls over to her nightstand, her phone ringing obnoxiously against the wood. 

“Hello?” she grumbles out, flopping onto her back and running a hand over her face. 

“Hi babe!” Steph says excitedly over the line. “Did I wake you? Are you still in bed?”  

Maggie glances over at the clock, eight something reading on the dial. 

“Yeah. I have the late shift tonight so I'm just getting some shut eye.” she explains, half hoping it’ll get her girlfriend off the phone so she can roll back over and cuddle Jack, who Maggie currently finds nuzzling into her side. 

The dog lets out a whine when Maggie scratches behind his ears gently and the firefighter catches herself smiling at the furball. At least until Steph speaks up again. 

“Is that the dog?” she questions slowly even though she already knew the answer. “Is it sleeping in the bed now?” 

Maggie bites her lip, looking at jack and then holding her phone a little tighter. 

“No of course not.” she lies out, gritting her teeth a little when jack looks up at her. “Okay maybe...a little... yes.” she finally settles on, Jack huffing and snuggling in a little closer to her side. 

He seems happy that his temporary owner is telling her girlfriend the truth. 

“I thought that we talked about this. Letting an animal roll in the bed is disgusting. Now we'll need new sheets and everything.” Steph complains, Maggie just rolling her eyes. “Can’t you just get rid of it? Take it to the shelter or something?” 

“No!” Maggie says sternly, pulling jack securely into her waist. “They put dogs down there, I won't take him to that place.” she swears. 

Steph sighs deeply on the other line before taking a breath and carrying on. 

“Well, then you can meet me later today and we'll take him to my father’s store. Happy with that?” she questions softly, but Maggie knows her enough by now to notice when it’s forced. 

A ‘no' instantly flashes through Maggie’s mind, but she ends up agreeing and hanging up the phone before Steph can steal anymore sleep from her. 

“That sound okay buddy?” she asks Jack. “Mr Parker is way nicer than his daughter. Don’t worry, he’ll find you a good home, one that deserves you.” Maggie assures a little sadly, kissing the pup’s head before cuddling into him and drifting back to sleep. 

 

                       

A couple of hours later, Maggie gets up and takes a shower, taking more time than usual. Truth is, she is a bit sulky, Jack following her everywhere around the house. She dresses a bit more formal than she'd like knowing Steph is about to be there and puts on her leather jacket over her sweater and looks down at Jack as he cries at her feet. 

‘’I know, buddy. I’ll miss you too.’’ she says before bending down to pick the crying buddle of fur. ‘’No, you’ll be fine I promise.’’ 

She kisses his head and Jack hides his face into Maggie’s neck just as Stephanie cheerfully knocks on the door. Maggie opens and closes the door behind her, walking outside. She then gives her girlfriend a soft smile as she pecks her cheek. 

‘’Hey, are you ready to find him another place to stay?’’ the blonde woman asks with a soft enthusiasm. 

Maggie shrugs as she walks down the steps towards her truck. 

‘’You’re gonna have to hold him, okay? He’s not used to dog carriers and I want him safe and sound in the front.’’ Maggie instructs. 

Stephanie stops her with a hand on her shoulder. She exhaled, rubbing her thumb on the leather. 

‘’It looks like you don’t want to get rid of that dog.’’ she observes slowly. 

Maggie is on the verge of becoming emotional. It sort of reminds her of the fire that burned her house down, everything she once called her own burning along with it. She doesn’t recall the last time she owned something and didn’t want to let go of it. The firefighter clears her throat and scratches Jack’s belly, the pup licking her chin in return. 

‘’He deserves a better owner than me. Someone that will be around more and take care of him properly.’’ Maggie says, her voice coming out gruff. 

Stephanie accepts the dog and Maggie stares at Jack and the way her girlfriend is holding him. She actually seems comfortable and holds him correctly. Maggie wonders if her hate for animals has anything to do with her mom’s sudden departure in her teenage years. The woman had apparently judged her husband’s career and was ready to move on with someone else, without her daughter. 

‘’Don’t worry, my father will find him a new home. It’ll be the best for the dog, okay? You’ll see.’’ Stephanie tries to convince Maggie as she opens the passenger door. 

The blonde woman gives her a small smile and jumps in the pick-up, settling Jack down on her lap as Maggie closes the door and walks around the truck, her heart unexpectedly heavy. 

 

Alex stocks the shelve with bags of cat food and sighs as Caitlin corners her. 

‘’Sorry, I got a bit busy there. A kid almost tumbled a fish tank onto the floor. Anyway, what were you saying about your birthday? That you lied to your sister about dating a firefighter?’’ Caitlin asks, frowning at her. 

Alex groans, putting her forehead against the cool shelves, slightly making her feel better. She eyes her friend that smiles at her with empathy. 

‘’I told my sister and my brother-in-law that I would bring her to a holiday Christmas party on the 23rd so they could meet her. I signed up for a complete humiliating disaster, Caitlin.’’ Alex complains, still not believing herself. 

Caitlin nods slowly and Alex sees her brown eyes focusing past her shoulder, visibly thinking about a solution. 

‘’It doesn’t have to end with you having to change your name and flee the country,’’ Caitlin starts seriously ‘’You can just set up a profile on a dating app and have you matched with a brown eyed woman.’’ 

It sounds pretty simple coming from her co-worker’s mouth but Alex shakes her head and snorts, knowing it wouldn’t do any good to just dig herself up further. She is grateful that her friend isn’t judging her though. She knows if she had talk to Vasquez about it, she would never hear the end of it. 

‘’Thanks, Cait, but seriously, a dating app? You know that’s not for me.’’ Alex replies, emptying the cart onto the shelf. 

Both women walk down the aisle, Alex pushing the cart toward the entrance of the store. 

‘’It’s just temporary, you can take it down afterwards. I can even do it for you, you won’t have to do anything.’’ Caitlin adds. 

Alex laughs shortly, putting her hand on her friend’s shoulder. 

‘’Seriously, thanks Caitlin, you’re the best. But I’ll find a way out of this. Why don’t you use the app for yourself?’’ She deflects. 

Caitlin smiles at her and shakes her head as the front door rings announcing a new coming client and demanding their attention. 

‘’I am fine, thank you very much. I know I haven’t dated anyone since Ronnie, but I’m not ready to get into something new just yet. I’m focusing on the paperwork so we can open our clinic as soon as you and Vas are done with your program.’’ Caitlin retorts in a rehearsed fashion. 

Alex smiles back, excited for their future. She turns her head and ends up freezing when she sees Lieutenant Sawyer roaming the aisle uncomfortably with her hands in her pockets. 

‘’Oh, look who came in to wish you a happy birthday.’’ Caitlin says sarcastically as Alex follows her co-workers gaze towards a blonde woman holding a cute white Labrador in her arms ‘’Princess whiny Stephanie.’’ 

Alex scoffs and rolls her eyes at the sight of their boss’s daughter. 

‘’Don’t try to be mean, Cait, it’s not a good look on you.’’ Alex teases her friend softly. 

The other woman frowns and open her mouth in slight shock. 

‘’I can be cold when I want to.’' she objects, twisting her hands together.  

Alex shrugs, looking back to Stephanie as she talks to the teenage cashier. 

‘’What is she even doing here?’’ Alex mumbles mostly to herself. 

The woman was mostly out of town, busy and travelling around the world for different contracts. 

‘’Maybe she’s here because she needs to be declawed.’’ Caitlin prods before smiling mischievously at Alex.  

‘’Good one, Cait. You’re as cold as ice.’’ Alex snorts before straightening herself as Stephanie walks toward them. 

Alex refrains herself from rolling her eyes as she feels Caitlin backtrack behind her. 

‘’You work here right?’’ Stephanie inquires, pointing at the red apron she was wearing. 

‘’Yes, I’ve been working here for three years and you think my name is Linda.’’ Alex replies curtly. 

Stephanie chuckles and winks at her, shuffling the white pup in her arms. 

‘’I remember. Listen, I just need your help to find him a new home so he doesn’t squat my girlfriend’s house anymore.’’ she tells with a faux hint of regret. 

Alex accepts the dog, immediately letting him cuddle her. The vet student kisses his floppy ears and smiles at the cute brown eyes looking up at her. She frowns, looking at the collar. Her heart misses a few beats as she reads the name. 

‘’Jack?’’ she asks softly. 

‘’You know its name?’’ Stephanie questions, lifting an eyebrow. 

Alex shrugs and points the collar. 

‘’It says so right here.’’ Alex answers quietly, her mind thinking back to other brown eyes. 

When Alex lifts her head again, the sight is no longer a memory as lieutenant Sawyer approaches them. 

‘’Look, I just need him out of the house, he’s been bringing my girlfriend down lately. Oh, if you took him yourself, I’d make sure my dad gives you all the food you need for free. Hold up, I’m gonna go talk to him.’’ Stephanie tells Alex, walking past her to speak with her father in the office. 

The lieutenant grins at Alex and lifts her hand. Alex doesn’t move, wondering what the hell the other woman is doing and exhales deeply when her fingers lands in Jack’s fur, scratching him, half-relieved, half-disappointed. 

‘’Hey, Danvers. We’re seeing each other a lot these days. I’m gonna start thinking you’re stalking me.’’ she teases with a wink. 

Alex shakes her head, smiling back as she scoffs. 

‘’I told you I was working here, so maybe you’re the one stalking me.’’ Alex replies with an arched eyebrow and a smirk. 

The vet student wants to pat herself on the back for managing to not sound like an idiot and for making Sawyer smiles softly. The firefighter sighs and takes a step back, Jack whining at her. 

‘’So, how is school?’’ The brunette asks, hiding her hands in her leather jacket once more. 

Alex readjusts her grip on the puppy, feeling the firefighter’s eyes on them both. Clearing her throat and ignoring how good the other woman looks in her jacket, Alex answers: 

‘’Oh, it’s my finals, so I’m really busy.’’ She offers. 

The brunette hums and tips her head to the side. 

‘’I hope you’re taking care of yourself as well.’’ She says with kind eyes. 

Alex is getting lost in them, pushing her hair back behind her ear to cover up her mixed feelings. A part of her is tingling at the concern and another part of her is irritated. She doesn’t need lessons on how to succeed... but she likes that Sawyer seems to care. 

Stephanie comes back to them however, startling Alex out of her daze, causing her to jump by the firefighter’s side. 

‘’Oh, babe, I figured it out. Linda will take Jack with her.’’ The blonde explains matter of factly. 

Alex resists the urge to pummel her, hating the position she puts her in. Besides, does Sawyer really want to get rid of the white puppy or is Stephanie pushing her to? The question only grows as the firefighter fixes her eyes on Alex, frowning and mouthing Linda in question. 

‘’Actually, I can’t. My landlord is completely against animals.’’ Alex answers, shrugging with regret. She's already risking it with Gertie. 

Stephanie sighs and lifts her hand, signalling to her girlfriend that she doesn’t know what else to do. 

‘’The shelter could still be an option...’’ Stephanie trails on before being abruptly cut off by both Alex and Maggie. 

‘’No!’’ they both exclaim, Maggie reaching out to Jack, stroking his paw. 

Alex ignores Caitlin lurking at the end of the aisle, miming the word ‘ok’ and silently telling her they all look really good together. The vet student refrains herself from laughing when Jack growls in Stephanie’s direction, his back leg instinctively kicking. 

‘’Did you see that?’' Stephanie scoffs ‘’It hates me, babe.’’ 

Alex has to stop herself from gagging at the word babe but rolls her eyes anyway. 

‘’He was just playing.’’ The vet student argues, trying to not put too much judgement in her voice. 

‘’Yeah, Steph, he wasn’t trying to hurt you.’' Sawyer adds, looking at the joyful Labrador. 

Alex’s body is getting warmer the closer the firefighter is and is praying that she’s at least not blushing. 

‘’He tried to kick me and showed me his teeth. He’s a villain dog, I’m telling you.’’ The blonde woman persists. 

The lieutenant and Alex share an amused look, choosing to pet Jack instead, the dog more than happy to have the two women’s attention. Alex can't help but step up to take the pup’s defence. 

‘’He’s not villain, you know. He can sense when he’s not wanted.’’ Alex explains bluntly. 

Stephanie nods slowly, glaring at her and snickers. 

‘’We’re leaving.’’ she decides, walking between her girlfriend and Alex. 

Alex takes a step back but keep her mouth shut until Sawyer put a hand on her elbow. 

‘’I’m sorry about her behaviour, I think the holidays bring back memories and she gets overwhelmed.’’ the woman tries to explain. 

Alex smiles and shakes her head. 

‘’You don’t have to apologize for her and I get that the holidays can be a tense period for some people. I just hadn’t realized she was...’’ 

‘’Neurotic?’’ the firefighter muses with a tiny smile at the corner of her lips. 

The vet student rolls her eyes and snorts, kissing the top of Jack’s head to avoid the brunette’s inquiring eyes. 

‘’I was gonna say sensitive.’’ Alex corrects politely. 

Sawyer nudges her shoulder playfully causing Alex to bite her lip, the corner of her eye catching the grey V-neck the firefighter is wearing. 

‘’She’ll be fine.’’ The lieutenant assures her. 

They both watch Stephanie talking to her dad, the man seeming stressed and suddenly sorrowful. Alex frowns at her boss’s change of mood and wishes Mr. Parker wouldn’t let Stephanie get the best of him. But she quickly averts her eyes as the blonde turns toward her girlfriend. 

‘’Okay babe, let’s go.’’ Steph announces, smiling at her. 

Alex can't follow the woman's mood swings but she doesn’t really care as Sawyer steps in front of her, reaching out for Jack. The vet student regretfully and happily gives him back, glad that the firefighter gets to keep the pup for a little while longer. 

‘’I hope you’ll keep him, he’s a good one and seems really attached to you.’’ Alex decides to speak up, enjoying the smile on the woman’s face, causing her dimples to come out. 

Her eyes seem doubtful though as they shyly look down at the Labrador. She takes a deep breath and shakes her head. 

‘’Sorry for the trouble and thank you.’’ the woman says, starting to walk backward ’’My name is Maggie by the way, in case you wanted to stop calling me brown eyes.’’ 

Alex opens her mouth, a small gasp leaving her. She recovers quickly, crossing her arms over her chest, her mind engraving the name, her tongue spelling it silently over and over. 

‘’It is the colour of your eyes ya know.’’ she calls out as Maggie throws one last smirk her way before walking away. 

Caitlin re-joins Alex’s side as Stephanie circles Maggie’s waist and look behind her, smiling and winking at the vet student once more. 

‘’Being nice is overrated.’’ Caitlin starts, rubbing Alex’s arm ‘’That woman is such a b....’’ 

‘’Miss Danvers, will you come talk to me in my office please.’’ Mr. Parker interrupted her employee. 

Alex frowns at his tone, wondering what her boss wants. Last year around her birthday, she got a raise. Maybe it is just that. Then why couldn’t she shake the dread filling up her chest? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh what do you think Alex's boss wants??


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do: Hey everyone, we want to thank all of you for your enthusiasm and feedback. It's been fun to write this and we love reading your comments. It's unanimous, you all hate Steph and honestly, so do we... I think you'll enjoy the end of this chapter very much ;)
> 
> In case you missed it, I update my story To know we're good enough and Atlas98 updated hers Say you love me tonight.
> 
> Enjoy and please leave kudos and comments x

Maggie breathes slowly, methodically lowering the bar down to her chest before lifting it again. James encourages her while Lucy sits eating cheese puffs and counting Maggie’s reps. Winn is not far from them, comfortably sitting down with Jack in his lap.‘Ya know, I heard petting an animal helps with your cholesterol.’’ the fire truck's driver comments.

Maggie snorts at that, wondering if Alex would confirm the fact. She shakes her head and groans, pressing the bar up once more with an exhale. James hovers, ready to grab the bar but Maggie holds on, wanting to beat Lucy’s latest number.

‘’It sounds crazy but I think I actually sleep better since Jack is in the house.’’ Maggie comments shakily, a bit embarrassed to admit such a truth.

Jack actually helped her with her nightmares a lot, pushing away bad memories and the worst fire she found herself walking into. Its strangely comforting having him there.

‘’Look at that, Sawyer, an actual male found his way in your bed.’’ Lucy snickers, teasingly kicking her thigh.

Maggie swears and her arms shake as Chief Jonn shuffles into the gym area with a bag of groceries. He walks towards Jack, the white pup still in Winn’s arms.

‘’Still haven’t find anyone to adopt him yet?’’ the tall man gruffs out.

Maggie signals James to set down the bar and sits up, wiping the sweat off her neck with the towel Lucy throws in her face with a triumphant smirk. Maggie would beat her reps later.

‘’Not yet.’’ Maggie answers ‘’But we’re still looking for options. Steph refuses to sleep in my bed for as long as Jack is there.’’

Winn mutters a ‘’How sad is that’’ sarcastically and shrugs, ignoring the swat of his boyfriend’s hand.

‘’You know, you’re gonna have to choose between the girl and the dog eventually.’’ Jonn wisely says, his opinion on the matter pretty clear on his not so impassive face.

‘’Yeah, Sawyer, keep the dog and give me Stephanie’s number.’’ Lucy jokes, even though Maggie knows her co-worker is in too deep with her girlfriend Vasquez to mean anything by that.

Everybody laughs except Jonn who simply smiles at his protégé.

‘’Seriously, Maggie, for as long as I’ve known you, you always did what you truly wanted. You gotta go for what makes you happy. Only you know if it’s that girl or this cutie right here.’’ Jonn adds, petting Jack’s head.

Maggie rolls her eyes playfully at the way all of her friends have adopted Jack already. She knows the truth deep down. She doesn’t want to get rid of the dog just to please Steph. Their thing is supposed to be fun but lately Stephanie is being controlling and showing a part of her that Maggie really doesn’t like. And Maggie is aware that their relationship isn’t going anywhere, but isn’t that what she wants? What she always prides herself to want and need? If she's honest, Maggie isn’t really sure anymore.

But looking at Jack, one thing she is certain of, that pair of brown eyes finds their way to her heart faster than anyone ever has before, leading her to think of another set of whiskey pupils that wouldn’t leave her mind either.

The afternoon was pretty slow at the firehouse so Maggie decides to go back to Mr. Parker’s store to ask Alex for some advice, she’ll need it if Jack is gonna be sticking around. Okay, maybe a part of her wants to see the woman again, but she didn’t tell the crew that.

Maggie steps inside the store with purpose, a silent excitement making her stomach do somersaults. She stops in front of the cashier, recognizing the golden hair and serious golden eyes.

‘’Hi, I’m looking for the woman that was with you the other day when I came in here, Alex?’’ Maggie starts with a smile.

The woman that seems usually nice simply glares at her, her mouth thin and closed tight.

‘’She actually doesn’t work here anymore. She got fired.’’ she states bluntly, visibly pissed off by the situation.

Maggie falters on her feet, her stomach and her smile dropping heavily.

‘’Oh, how...I don’t understand, why?’’ Maggie asks, having always seen Alex caring about animals and giving good advice when it came to the store.

Heck, she even tried to recruit her as a client on their first encounter. The woman, Caitlin, the nametag says, eyes her and sighs deeply.

‘’Your girlfriend Stephanie made a complaint to her father and I’m sure he didn’t want to fire her because Alex is actually one of his best employees. But his daughter is all that he has. And sadly she’s a beautiful, but horribly insecure and superficial nightmare of a human being.’’ Caitlin explains blandly.

‘’Okay, enough, I get it.’’ Maggie lifts her hand to stop her rant, a part of her still wanting to defend her. 

But this time she went too far. Stephanie is a driven woman and Maggie used to like that. But with time, Maggie has realized that Steph doesn’t get what she wants because she is determined and persevering, but because she is manipulative.

‘’Look, Alex is putting herself through school. She needed this job.’’ Caitlin adds, exhaling deeply.

Maggie’s mind is swirling with guilt and empathy. She wishes she could see the woman.

‘’I’m very sorry for the mess Stephanie caused. Could I get Alex’s number or her address?’’ Maggie asks.

‘’Why, you want to burn down her house?’’ she replies curtly, the brash take on a firefighter pun actually stinging a little.

Maggie frowns at her with a hint of a smile and Caitlin maintain her glare. The firefighter is thinking that maybe this woman isn’t usually harsh, but could be for her friends. Maggie is actually glad Alex has this woman in her life.

‘’I want to fix this and I want to apologize to her.’’ Maggie explains slowly.

Caitlin seems to hesitate, studying her quietly, probably wondering if she should trust her.

‘’I had no idea Stephanie could do something like this, trust me, I would have stopped her.’’ Maggie insists ‘’Please, I feel horrible about this and I just want to see Alex.’’

A small smile tugs at the woman’s lips and Maggie feels hopeful, her fingers tapping a little nervously on the counter.

‘’Well, you know her name is Alex Danvers, don’t you? I’m sure under that fine costume you also have a great brain. Get to work, Lieutenant.’’ Caitlin tells her with a surprisingly kind tone.

Maggie smiles, pushing a loose stand of hair behind her ear, looking down at her typical bomber jacket and blue work pants. In her rush to make things right, she hadn’t thought of just looking up Alex’s name. She reaches out a hand, taking Caitlin by surprise, the woman shaking it.

‘’Thank you, it was nice to meet you.’’ Maggie tells her ‘’I’m sorry again. Alex is lucky to have a friend like you.’’

Back at the firehouse once more, Maggie is focused and sitting down at the dining table in front of her laptop, trying to find Alex on any social platform she can think of. Jonn is behind her cooking while the boys are playing cards by her side. Usually, it was the Candidate’s job to cook, but Jonn likes to prepare dinner for them, especially one of his family’s recipe. 

Maggie doesn’t know everything about her mentor’s life but she knows that Jonn used to own a farm until a fire killed his whole family, including his wife and daughters, leaving him and his father as the only survivors. After that event, Jonn decided to become a firefighter to stop other folks from losing their families... much like Maggie herself.

So it was only natural they had connected on that. They both had lost their family in a fire and Jonn had gave her hope that her life wasn’t over.

‘’Any luck finding her?’’ Jonn asks, pulling Maggie out of her thoughts.

The woman sighs, leaning back against her chair while Winn laughs, beating James once more at their game of cards.

‘’No, she’s not on any social media, which doesn’t actually surprise me.’’ Maggie says, putting her hands behind her head.

‘’You know, I can’t believe your girlfriend had her fired.’’ James comments, shaking his head.

Maggie nods, agreeing. She hasn’t spoken to Stephanie just yet, not quite knowing what she would tell her exactly. She wants to wait until she’s calm enough to face her.

‘’She crossed a line in my opinion.’’ Winn adds, scratching his belly and ignoring once again a pointed look from his boyfriend.

The man shrugs and Maggie roll her eyes at their antics, closing the lid of her laptop.

‘’Come on, Maggie. Tell us more about this lady. What is she like?’’ Jonn prods, cutting his carrots expertly while still looking over at the group.

Maggie twirls around in her chair, enjoying watching the man that taught her to cook being crazy efficient in the kitchen.

‘’Well, she’s wicked smart, probably had straight A’s her whole life.’’ Maggie smiles, knowing how focused Alex is on school.

‘’That’s great but you’re missing one of the most important points, what does she look like?’’ Winn clarifies cheekily.

Maggie frowns at her friend, James throwing a peanut in his direction. Winn simply catches it in his mouth and winks at his boyfriend.

‘’She’s pretty, but she doesn’t know it.’’ Maggie answers, looking down at the table, thinking of the vet student’s shyness and cute mannerisms.

Winn grins approvingly, James and Maggie shaking their heads at him.

‘’That’s the best kind of pretty. Is she nice?’’ Jonn questions, always bringing the group back on track.

Maggie turns toward her boss once more, not sure if she likes where this conversation is heading. But it’s like finally letting a floodgate of thoughts and feelings out, Maggie helpless to stop herself.

‘’Unbelievably. She has a really big heart, she’s sweet and likes dogs.’’ Maggie tells him slowly, not bothering to fight the smile on her face.

Jonn smiles at her knowingly and wipe his hands on a nearby clothe.

‘’So, she’s wicked smart, beautiful but not full of herself and has a heart of gold.’’ Jonn summarizes.

Maggie glares at him, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

‘’What are you getting at, Chief?’' 

Jonn shrugs and leans over the counter, his dark eyes finding hers. Maggie hates it when he does that as if he is reading her mind. 

‘’I’m just saying, she seems really special.’’ he notes.

Maggie let a small silence hovering, the word special making her heart skip a beat.

‘’She is.’’ she agrees, spacing the words out as if it would make the statement less true.

Jonn nods and walks past the counter towards his team.

‘’Alright boys, how about you finish that equipment inventory before lunch?’’

Winn barely look at him, squinting down at his cards.

‘’Yeah, yeah, we’ll do it right after I beat James for the fifth time.’’

‘’How about now?’’ Jonn insists, his grave voice and the kick on his shin from his boyfriend making Winn lifts his head.

He rushes to get up on his feet, leaving the cards on the table.

‘’Yeah, now is good.’’ he answers, leaving the room with James in tow, his smile blinding Maggie for a second.

Maggie does her best to not move on the chair, feeling suddenly nervous. She eyes Jack sitting comfortably in the Chief's chair, nobody else having the right to do so. 

‘’So, Alex?’’ the man insists as he sits down beside her, the look on his face letting on that he knows something is up with his firefighter.

Maggie sighs, aware that she can't ignore the man and her feelings forever. She shrugs, her nail scratching the wooden table.

‘’She doesn’t want to date until she finishes her program and starts her career. Anyway, she’s not the kind of girl I usually go out with.’' Maggie adds, still trying to convince herself that Alex wouldn’t be a right fit for her ‘’She believes in true love and marriage and all of that.”

Jonn listens to her patiently and half-shrugs as well once she's done.

‘’You know, just because your parents lived unhappily together before they died in that fire doesn't mean you can’t be happy, married and in love too.’’ He offers.

Maggie scoffs automatically, having heard that speech before from the man sitting in front of her.

‘’No, thank you.’’ She responds coyly.

Jonn laughs shortly at her stubbornness and turns his hands upwards. Maggie notices a few burned pieces of skin, wondering when her boss had been burned and how he overcame the pain.

‘’And yet, here you are searching for this smart, pretty and nice girl.’’ he points out simply.

‘’Just to apologize.’’ Maggie argues tiredly, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

Jonn just shakes her head, imitating her stance.

‘’Maggie, don’t you want a family of your own someday? To spend the Holidays with?’' He asks gently. 

And she can tell that Jonn is simply worried about her and wants the best for her. Always has been since he saved her from the fire that took her whole life. It's one of the hundred reasons why she loves him.

‘’You and the guys in this firehouse are my family.’’ Maggie reasons quietly.

‘’Well, that much is true but me and the guys won’t be there to snuggle you on a cold night after a long day at work.’’ Jonn retorts a little playfully.

Maggie smiles sadly and nods, getting his point.

‘’Is that a firm no? Because I’m sure I could convince Winn to let me cuddle him every once in a while.’’ Maggie jokes.

Jonn laughs as he get up, patting her shoulder before heading back to the kitchen.

‘’You got that dog now for that and maybe you could get that girl too.’’ Chief Jonn remarks, winking as he let’s Maggie resume her scrolling on her laptop.

She has to find this girl.

Maggie arrives at home late that day. Her shift had ended in the afternoon (most of which shed spent looking for Alex.) but after dropping Jack at home and having a talk with him about new house rules and agreeing to let him stay until she sells the place, she had driven to the closest hardware store, needing a couple of things to keep the renovations moving.

She takes off her coat, putting it on the hook and frowns as she walks into the kitchen, rolling the sleeves of her plaid shirt.

‘’Hey, what are you doing here?’’ Maggie asks, surprise to see Stephanie dressing up a salad. ‘’I thought you had a photo shoot?’’

‘’Hey, babe.’’ the blonde woman smiles at her and shrugs. ‘’ It was postponed, I cooked dinner.’'

Maggie rolls her eyes, knowing that between the two of them, she was the one that cooks. Truthfully, she wasn’t in the mood to see Stephanie tonight. She had yet to find the proper words to say to her girlfriend and all she wants is to relax, maybe work on the living room for the evening. Maggie looks around herself, realizing something was off. It's quiet.

‘’Steph, where’s Jack?’’ she questions slowly.

The photograph briefly looks around and frowns.

‘’I don’t know, I thought he was with you.’’ she answers with a shrug.

Maggie forces herself to stay calm, not in the mood to play one of her games.

‘’No, I left him here earlier. He always greets me when I come home.’’ Maggie retorts, lifting her hands up in annoyance.

The woman takes a step back and exhales deeply, putting her hands in the pockets on the back of her jeans.

‘’I’m sure he’s not far. Maybe he’s in that bed of yours.’’ Stephanie suggests with a sly grin ’’Don’t worry about it. Go shower, I’m gonna wait here for you with a glass of wine.’’

Maggie ignores the comment. ‘’Jack? Jack?’’ she calls out, moving around in the house and at the foot of the stairs.

She ends up coming back to the kitchen, frustrated.

‘’Did you leave the door open, Steph? Did he walk out somehow?’’ She asks, accusing the woman blatantly.

Stephanie scoffs, stepping away from the island to face her.

‘’Now, you’re just paranoid, Maggie.’’ She shrugs, tone tight and not really truthful.

‘’I’m gonna look for him around the neighbourhood. Are you coming or not?’’ Maggie questions harshly.

Her girlfriend stops her, putting her arms around her neck.

‘’Forget about him, I’m right here for you, baby.’’ she whispers against her ear. 

Maggie pushes her off, putting her hands on her hips.

‘’You really don’t get it, do you?’' The firefighter says in disbelief.

‘’Get what?!’’ Stephanie finally lashes out.

‘’You can’t control everyone and everything! That woman at your dad’s store? You really got her fired? Why would do you that?’’ Maggie thunders, letting her anger and frustration out.

The blonde chuckles drily, pushing her hair away from her face.

‘’I can’t believe we’re talking about her. She talked back to me. I’m just looking out for my father. If she was rude with me, imagine how she is with the other customers.’'  Steph reasons blandly.

‘’Steph, you had no right. That woman is nothing but polite with everyone, you don’t even know her name. Before calling people out, maybe you should take a look at yourself.’’ Maggie tells her, getting worked up.

Stephanie shakes her head, trying to pull Maggie in once more.

‘’Hey, I never pretended to be the best person in the universe but I care about my father and about you. I don’t like the way that girl looked at you. Now she’s gone, so is the dog, everything can go back to the way things were.’’ the woman explains in a soft tone.

Maggie scoffs in disbelief, putting a hand up between themselves to stop Stephanie from taking another step.

‘’I don’t want that, Steph.’’ Maggie states calmly, shaking her head. ‘’You and I are done.’’

‘’Are you kidding me?’' the blonde retorts, fuming.

The firefighter crosses her arms over her chest.

‘’You heard me. I don’t like whoever you think you are.’' Maggie calls her out.

Her green eyes squint at Maggue as she points the counter behind her.

‘’I wasted my entire night, waiting and cooking for you.’’ Stephanie argues pitifully.

Maggie shrugs and shakes her head, not understanding how Steph thinks she's fooling anybody.

‘’I know you didn’t cook, Steph. I can see the Noonan’s package in the bin and I bought the stove yesterday, didn’t have the time to connect it yet.’’  Maggie says matter of factly, more than done with her now ex-girlfriends attitude.

Stephanie nods and snickers, leaning back against the island.

‘’You’re making a mistake you know that? I’m the best thing that’ll ever happen to you. We could travel together, we could have made money and be happy. So, when you eventually call me and beg me to come back, know I won’t be there.’’ Stephanie declares.

Maggie smiles curtly at her and nods, pointing to the threshold of the front door with her hand.

‘’If you’re done, could you please get out of my house so I can go look for my dog.’’ Maggie says.

Stephanie huffs out and promptly walks down the hallway. She picks up her coat and her bag, slamming the door on her way out. Maggie let out a sigh of relief before grabbing Jack’s favourite blanket and leash and racing out of the house, hoping to find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally fixed that problem...but where is Jack?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do: Because y'all were so worried about Jack, here's the second update of the week :D Your enthusiasm is very contagious, hence the reason we're updating so soon ;)
> 
> We want to thank all of you for the kudos and comments, you have no idea how happy they made us.
> 
> (I updated From Dusk till dawn yesterday in case some of you missed it)
> 
> Enjoy! xx

“I cant’ believe he fired you.” Kara grumbles as they walk down the street. 

Alex sighs, having heard Kara say the same thing for a few days now. She finally gathered the courage to tell her sister Mr. Parker fired her three days ago and since then, Kara is driving her everywhere around Midvale, trying to make her feel better. 

“It doesn't matter, it’s his daughter I don't want to come between that anyway.” Alex reasons, the pang of regret surrounding her own father's absence for years tugging at her heart a little. 

Kara nods but still wears a firm and unusual scowl. 

“Well I won’t let it ruin this.” She declares, tugging Alex into a store. 

The older Danvers sister doesn’t have any other choice but to follow her. 

“What? Kara?!” Alex exclaims, smiling tightly at the attendant who breezes over to them, his soft eyes and light hair somewhat calming. 

“Hi ladies, anything I can help you with today?” He asks, smiling almost genuinely. 

Alex tries to not just grumble and look sulky, knowing it wasn’t the kind boy’s fault if Kara brought them into his store on a whim. 

“A changing room and every dress in her size please!” Kara exclaims excitedly, pulling at Alex’s hand as the attendant leads them through the store, pulling fabric from lines and racks as he goes. 

Now, Alex really wants to complain, thinking she’d better be off in the street, giving out her resumé. She needs to find another job soon. She has enough money to live comfortably for a while, being mindful and only really spending some money for that giant king size bed of hers, but the main portion is meant for the vet office she plans to open with Caitlin and Vasquez. 

“Alright, you let me know if you need anything else.” The attendant offers kindly, smiling at the way Kara is practically hopping around joyfully. 

“Go try some on.” Kara insists, shoving Alex into the cubicle. 

Alex tries to resist, shaking her head and attempting to hold the door open. But soon she's doing as she’s told, trying on and tugging off dresses as fast as Kara throws them over the door. She doesn't really get the point of this, but Alex has never been able to deny anything that makes Kara smile. 

“Okay last one!” Kara calls out, a black dress draping over the door and hitting Alex on the head softly. “I think this is the one you'll like.” 

And as if by chance or fate itself, it is. 

Alex pulls the fitting yet comfortable material over her waist, adjusting the slight ruffle at her hip until it sits perfectly and pulls the front down elegantly over her collarbones. Even she has to admit she loves it. 

“Let me see!” Kara demands impatiently, practically clawing at the door until Alex comes out. 

Her sister’s jaw actually drops, tears in her eyes as she rushes in to hug Alex. 

“You look like mom.” Kara mumbles out. “You're beautiful Al.” She says with a smile, pulling back and holding Alex’s hands as she looks the black dress over. “It’s perfect. We'll take it!” she calls over to the attendant, who quickly smiles and nods, setting up a dress bag on the counter. 

“Oh, wait no Kara I couldn-" Alex refuse before being cut off, Kara having none of it. 

“I wasn't asking and you need a dress for the party on the 23rd anyway.” Her sister reasons. “It can be a Christmas present if you want, but you're taking that dress home.” Kara declares. “And she’ll wear it out, Marco!” she calls to the attendant. 

Alex wants to scoff but she can’t help but smile at her sister’s generosity. 

“Marco?” Alex questions. 

The blonde woman nods before readjusting her glasses. 

“He's my friend now, he likes pizza and ice cream, perfect friend.” Kara grins out. 

Alex smiles and shakes her head, actually loving the way Kara isn't joking as her and Marco laugh and giggle as she pays for the dress. Marco actually gives them both a hug on the way out, taking Alex by surprise. 

“Oh hey!” he calls as Alex is about to step out. “These are getting tossed so please take them.” Marco offers, holding a pair of black heels out to Alex. 

Alex opens her mouth and shakes her head. 

“I really don-" 

“I insist!” He says happily, shoving them into Alex’s arms as he nudges her outside to join Kara. 

Alex just starts walking alongside the blonde in slight shock, glad her sister remembers the way to the car. Alex clambers in and sits down a little awkwardly, the dress not really suited for a Prius passenger seat. 

“Try em on.” Kara urges, pointing at the heels as she pulls the car out of the spot and starts driving. 

Alex chuckles and kicks off her chucks, pulling the heels on perfectly and adjusting the straps around her ankles.  

“They're great.” She says with a smile, actually feeling good for the first time since being fired. “Thanks Kar.” 

Kara laughs and pats Alex’s knee.  

“Oh, don’t thank me yet.” She giggles, conspiracy written all over her face. 

Alex looks at her questioningly, not understanding the statement... at least until the car stops. She looks around and is suddenly sinking into her seat at the sight of the firehouse. 

“Kara drive!” Alex grumbles, actually trying to physically sink down into the footwell to avoid being seen. 

“Oh come on! I'm sure brown eyes would love to see this.” Kara winks. “And I wanna meet her so le-" 

“No!” Alex cuts in, suddenly trying to find a reason as to why Kara can’t go into that firehouse right now. 

She meets her sister’s eyes, crinkle visible between them. 

“Alex?” Kara questions after a moment. 

“I'll um.. I'll go in but uhh.. you should.. not.” Alex gets out shakily, cursing herself at the stupidity of it all. 

Kara smiles hesitantly and shrugs. 

“Don’t be silly I'll just pop in and say h-" 

“She’ll just be all over me.” Alex blurts out. “You know this with the thing and the stuff.” She explains poorly, motioning over herself and the dress. “So you um.. yeah you shouldn’t come in with me cause she’s not gonna wanna be talking if you know what I mean.” 

Kara smirks and sinks into her seat. “I get you.” She says teasingly. “I'll see her on the 23rd then?” 

“Yep, totally. I'll see you later.” Alex rambles out, forcing herself out of the car to escape any more questions. 

The blonde stops her gently with a hand on her arm. 

“Want me to wait?” Kara asks with a knowing smile and arched eyebrow. 

“No! I'll just.. get a ride with brown eyes it’s fine.” Alex reasons, not wanting Kara to find out that she’s been lying about dating Maggie this whole time. 

She slowly starts walking towards the firehouse, waiting until the sound of Kara’s car fades down the street and she can start running down the sidewalk to put some distance between herself and Lieutenant Sawyer. 

After about a block, Alex stops and berates herself for letting this go on for so long. Sure Maggie is beautiful and charming and brave, she cares about Jack and can pull off a uniform. And with that thought, Alex can’t remember what she was berating herself for...oh! Steph... well that in and of itself is a totally different problem, one that Alex finds in both her personal and professional life at the moment. 

She goes on like this for a bit, but stops when a small yap sound from below her. Alex looks down, frowns and smiles at the sight of jack sniffing at her heels. 

“Hi buddy.” She says softly, leaning down to pick up the puppy. “What are you doing here huh?” 

Jack whines and cuddles into her neck, causing Alex to sigh and turning back to the firehouse. 

“Okay I'll take you back to her.” Alex relents, not really wanting to question why her heart feels lighter the closer she gets to the brunette in her mind’s eye. 

 

Maggie slumps over her laptop, groaning in frustration. It’s been a few days since she found out Alex was fired, no links or emails or phone calls Maggie has made turning up any information on where she can find the vet student. On top of that, there's still no sign of Jack anywhere and Maggie is tired from the lack of sleep and frustration. She'd spent the last few nights walking around, calling for the puppy and checking in all the hiding spaces she can think of. She's lost two things this week and if Maggie is honest, she's hurting over them a lot. 

She hears Winn and James laughing in the truck bay, J’onn leaning out from where he stands in the kitchen making lunch to see what the boys are making a fuss about. The fuss actually comes to them as Lucy comes running in with a grin on her face. 

“Sawyer! Get your ass out here!” the firefighter urges, tugging Maggie up by her sleeve and shoving her out into the truck bay. 

“What the hell Luc-" Maggie cuts herself off, her breath catching a little when she sees Alex standing there, Jack happy and content in her arms. 

She couldn't believe it. Her face suddenly hurt from how much she was smiling. Jack was back. Safe and sound.

And the dress... Maggie has a hard time stopping her eyes from moving over the black fabric that drapes over Alex’s body, the woman's heels putting her squarely above Maggie's height in a way that makes the firefighter have to look up just to catch a glimpse of the student’s hazel eyes as she shuffles closer. 

“Hi.” Maggie mumbles past her smile, restraining herself from rushing forward and pulling the woman and Jack into a hug. 

“Hey.” Alex offers quietly, her smile soft as she looks around the firehouse a little. “I think this belongs to you.” She chuckles, handing a more than happy Jack over to Maggie. 

The firefighter feels her heart burst as Jack whines and burrows into her bomber jacket, looking up at her with big eyes. She smiles and hides her face in his fur, kissing him promptly and laughing as he licks her chin. 

“Hey, buddy” Maggie whispers as she holds the puppy close, determined never to let him go again. ‘’Thank you.’’ 

“No problem.” Alex assures politely, turning slightly on her heel and starting to shuffle out of the firehouse. “I'll see you around Lieutenant.” 

Maggie feels the words stall in her throat, fingers itching to reach out and ask Alex not to go, but nothing comes out. Thankfully James notices and shoves her forward a little, Maggie stumbling as Alex looks back at her with the motion she must catch in her peripherals. Maggie knows she has to do something now. 

“I'm really sorry about the whole thing with Stephanie.” She explains. “I didn’t know she would do something like that.” 

“It’s fine. I know her and Mr. Parker have a complicated thing.” Alex reasons, waving her hand dismissively. “I don’t want to come between her and her father anyway.” 

Maggie nods, a little in awe of how Alex can still be so understanding of someone who had her fired.  

“Still...” Maggie starts, berating herself until she can get something out. “I’d like to make it up to you. Can I take you for dinner? Tonight?” 

Alex’s eyes widen and she brings a hand to her hair a little nervously as she chuckles. Maggie simply finds her beautiful. 

“I um.. oh gosh no it's quite alright you don't have t-" 

“It would be my pleasure.” Maggie cuts in with a smile. “It’s the least I could do.” She reasons, practically feeling the approval of her crew members as they whisper and urge her on from a few feet away. 

Alex seems to hear them too, her eyes looking between everyone curiously.  

“I don’t know...” She starts, looking to the floor in thought. 

Maggie is about to say that it’s okay, not wanting to pressure Alex into anything, but Lucy steps in, throwing an arm over her shoulder and pulling Maggie into a side hug. 

“Nonsense! Sawyer here owes you more than dinner and she’s been looking for you to apologize for going on three days now.” The woman explains, Maggie slapping her arm as Jack huffs happily up at Maggie at the truth that’s been exposed. 

“Oh.” Alex exclaims softly, looking at Maggie pointedly, her eyes seeming to assess whether or not she can trust what she’s just heard. ‘’You’ve been looking for me?’’ 

Maggie struggles to swallow, her pride rushing to get in the way, making her want to backtrack. Her deepest desire punches her pride back into the corner of her mind, taking priority. 

“Yes. You are not easy to find.” Maggie grumbles playfully, trying to tell Alex she can trust her this time. 

It takes a moment, but eventually Alex nods and gives her a smile, Lucy smirking and sliding back over to Winn and James, requesting high fives. 

“Yeah I know, I don't have time for the social stuff with school.” Alex offers shyly. 

Maggie nods and holds onto jack a little tighter to keep her nerves in check. 

“I understand, school is important to you. So can I?” She asks again. “Dinner I mean, may I? My shift is basically over so...” 

Alex laughs, her hands sort of searching for jean pockets on the dress she’s wearing, the slight habit making Maggie smile when Alex realises and holds her hands together instead.  

‘’Wouldn’t your girlfriend be mad at you for having dinner with another woman?’’ She questions. 

Maggie sighs and shakes her head. 

‘’She’s not my girlfriend anymore. Never really was.’’ Maggie points out ‘’But I broke up with her.’’ 

‘’Oh, that’s great.’’ Alex replies promptly, before realizing what she's said ‘’I mean... in a sad way. But at least you got Jack back.’’ 

Maggie looks down to hide her smirk, watching Jack as he breathes heavily and happily at her, clearly relieved by the news. She catches Chief Jonn nodding at that in the corner of her eye. 

‘’All thanks to you.’’ Maggie tries again ‘’So, let me take you out.’’ 

The redhead exhales shakily and chuckles, surely seeing her co-worker's shenanigans behind her. 

“Okay.” Alex accepts, the answer like music to Maggie’s ears as she beams at the woman across from her.  

Alex smiles as she starts walking out of the firehouse, expecting Maggie to follow her. 

“But I get to choose where we're going.” Alex retorts, smirking a little when Maggie can feel the slight confusion on her face. “I know a place.” She reasons. 

And Maggie just shakes her head, letting Jonn take Jack from her arms with a smile as she pulls her uniform straight and heads out after the girl who just walked back into her life.  

 

Alex sighs as she leans back from the park bench, pushing her tray of take out away in a sign that she’s done. 

“Damn you were right about this being the best food truck ever.” Maggie comments, leaning back as well and admitting defeat to all the food still left on her tray. 

They had driven a small distance from the firehouse near the main street, most stores being overly decorated. It is true that small towns are into Christmas and everything, the Church’s choir even out to perform to the last-minute shoppers. 

“Late night studies always leads to knowing the best food places.” Alex chuckles out, a little perplexed at being out so late without rushing to get back to a textbook. 

She hugs her arms to herself a little as the cold night air blows in softly, the movement drawing Maggie’s eyes over her in a soft sort of way that has Alex holding her breath. Now she's shivering for multiples reasons. 

“Are you cold?” Maggie questions, reaching out a little to put her left hand on Alex’s thigh. 

Alex knows it’s just meant to be friendly, a comforting contact that matches the question she needs to answer. But God it doesn’t feel like that. She thinks she could get used to being warmed up by Maggie’s hands. 

“No, I’m fine.” Alex stammers out, suddenly a little hot under Maggie’s attention. 

The firefighter doesn’t seem convinced, frowning at Alex as she raises her right hand, her thumb gently rubs the redness of the student’s cheek.  

“I'll be right back.” Maggie announces, shuffling up from the bench and jogging over to her truck. 

Alex takes a deep breath as she watches her dig around in the back a little, the brunette eventually pulling something from her bag and making her way back over to Alex. 

“Here.” Maggie offers, draping her fire vest over Alex’s shoulders and pulling the collar down around her neck a little to keep the wind off. “Better?” 

Alex just nods, quietly loving the way she feels like Maggie is giving her a hug every time she pulls the jacket a little tighter around herself. 

“Do you wanna go for a walk, take the edge off some of this food?” Maggie asks playfully. 

Alex laughs at the easy tone, not recalling the last time she easily laughed like that.  

“Yeah sure, the walkway loops back around to my place.” She explains, pointing down the block a little. 

Maggie smiles and stands up, offering a hand to Alex with a smile that’s practically dripping in charm. Normally Alex might’ve laughed or teased the brunette for it, but she can see a genuineness in the woman’s eye that urges her to smile instead and take her hand. 

Maggie let’s their fingers part a little hesitantly once they start walking, the loss of contact making Alex bury her fingers in Maggie’s jacket instead. 

“So how did you become a firefighter?” Alex asks after a bit. “Have you always wanted to do that?” 

Maggie shrugs a little, hands finding her pockets almost shyly. 

“Not always. I wanted to be a cop for a while before I wanted this.” She explains, seeming hesitant to continue, but she looks over at Alex and seems to talk to herself a bit before continuing. 

“My uh... I lost my parents in a fire when I was young.” Maggie explains quietly. “They were always fighting and yelling, so I had shoved blankets under my door that night to try sleep with the noise... it ended up keeping the smoke out long enough for Jonn to break through my window and get me out before the house went down.” She whispers, half sad and half sounding like she’s telling a story that isn’t really her own. 

“I'm sorry.” Alex offers, not really knowing what to say but desperately wanting to do something. 

The other woman waves her off and shrugs. 

“Not your fault. It’s whatever.” Maggie tries jokingly, her voice cracking a little past her smile. “Besides, it brought me here. It made me who I am and I'm proud of that.” She resolves. 

Alex just smiles, not able to stop herself from reaching out and resting her hand on Maggie’s arm, hoping it conveys her sincerity and how she wants to be there for her. 

“What you do is beyond amazing.” Alex admits, truly happy that Maggie understands and takes pride in who she is. 

Maggie smiles to herself, boots scuffing on the pavement a little as they walk. 

“So how did you end up wanting to be a vet?” Maggie asks, bumping Alex’s shoulder with her own playfully. 

Alex sighs and shakes her head little. 

“Well right after high school, my dad got into a car accident. At the hospital, they had to induce a coma and told my mom that there wasn’t much they could do. My mom wasn’t ready to give up even if as a doctor herself, she knew the chances of him waking up were slim. So, I dropped my own med program and got a job to help my mom pay for everything. I sorta ended up looking after my sister, making sure she graduated and didn’t miss anything until she became a hot shot real estate agent.” Alex explains matter of factly, but not at all hiding the pride in her voice for her sister. 

She smiles briefly at the memories and at Maggie’s hand on hers, squeezing it. 

 “But yeah, when it came to me... well I always knew I think. At first, I wanted to follow my mom’s footsteps to please her. But after my dad woke up, nearly seven years after the accident, I decided to do what I really wanted.’’ Alex adds on, fuelled by the way Maggie is looking at her with awe and admiration. 

She looks away shyly, the red on her cheeks having nothing to do with the cold anymore. And as per usual, Alex ends up talking to try and distract herself. 

‘’One time when I was younger, I found a baby bird who had broken its wing, so I researched how and helped mend it before releasing him again.” Alex recalls softly, smiling at the memory. “And I knew I wanted to do that with the rest of my life. It was _my_ defining moment. So here I am.” She resolves. 

Maggie chuckles a little, the way she smiles at the story making Alex’s cheeks feel hot, even in the cold night air. She wants to make Maggie laugh again and again. 

“I honestly couldn’t expect anything less from you Danvers.” Maggie reasons. “You're something else.” 

Alex laughs shortly, the front of her apartment coming up as she stops by the front steps and turns to Maggie. 

“Sometimes being something else is exactly what you're meant to be.” Alex offers playfully. 

“You know, I think I'll take your side on that Danvers.” Maggie agrees playfully, yet with sincerity in her eyes. “Besides you’re pretty great so it must be true.” 

Alex smiles and looks to her feet shyly as they stand outside her door. When she eventually brings her eyes up to Maggie’s, the gentle smile on the woman’s face and the way she seems content just to stand here makes Alex feel a little light on her feet. 

“Um... thanks for the uh.. for dinner.” Alex murmurs out, aware of the way she sort of leans towards Maggie as the words come out but not being able to stop herself.  

“It was honestly my pleasure.” Maggie says quietly, her eyes drifting down to Alex's lips briefly before she clears her throat and bites her lip with a smile. “I should go. I got the early shift tomorrow.” She mumbles out, a hand coming to the back of her neck a little nervously. 

“Oh! Right, yeah no of course. I have an exam so...” Alex assures, laughing gently to try and alleviate some of the tension that still demands she gets as close as possible to this woman. 

Maggie smiles and sways a little, standing back to let Alex walk to her door, waiting for the student to be safely inside before leaving. 

“Goodnight Alex.” She calls gently. 

Alex smiles back through the door at the sound of her name on the firefighter’s lips. 

“Goodnight Maggie.” She offers back, hoping it won’t be long before she gets to say hello again. 

 

 

“And she just walked you home?” Vasquez questions, slapping Alex’s arm a little in excitement as they leave the exam hall. 

Alex sighs, thinking back of that night as they walk out of the building and into the afternoon cold air. 

“Yes... well I mean there was a...” Alex stalls, recalling the way Maggie’s eyes drifted to her lips, the spark she could feel jumping between them in the cool night air. 

Vasquez grabs her arm, bringing back to the present. 

“A what?” Susan teases. 

Alex rolls her eyes and holds her books a little closer to her chest. 

“A moment.” Alex supplies quietly, a hidden smile on her face as they walk down through the university campus to the parking lot. 

“So, she walked you home and you had a moment... sounds like you need to make a move.” Susan snickers. 

Alex just scoffs at that. Of course, she thought the same, but hearing it out loud still makes her heart rush a little nervously. 

“She probably didn’t think anything of it last night.” Alex reasons, shrugging a little with her doubt. 

Vasquez sighs, throwing her arm around her friend’s shoulder. 

“You don't think?” she questions. “Cause Lucy seems to think something’s going on.” 

The vet student lifts her eyes to the sky in mild annoyance. 

“I think your girlfriend needs to stop being so nosy.” Alex points out playfully. “I’m sure Maggie doesn't thi-" 

“Hey Danvers.” Maggie calls, cutting Alex off, the firefighter leaning against the hood of Alex’s car. 

Alex stops in her tracks, all air leaving her lungs. Vasquez bumps into her back before sidestepping and grinning at them both. Maggie nods at the short black-haired woman. Alex can’t help the way her heart is practically stalling at the sight of Maggie’s smile, happy to see her again after last night. But it still leaves her with the question of where she stands. And Alex doesn’t know if she’s ready for the answer. 

 

Maggie notices the startled look in the vet student’s eyes and wonders if it had been a good idea to come here. Maybe Alex is thinking she was ambushing her? Truth is, she just wants to see her after last night... after whatever that was between them. 

‘’Maggie? I, what are you doing here?’’ Alex asks, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

The firefighter grins at the now familiar tic and steps forward. 

‘’Well, I wanted to know how your test went.’’ she explains. 

She catches Vasquez elbowing her friend in the ribs and Alex jolts forward. 

‘’It went good, thank you.’’ Alex eventually answers 

Maggie nods and smiles, relieved and happy for the student. 

‘’How about I take you out for coffee? To celebrate?’’ she suggests, trying to tone down the hope in her voice. 

Alex seems to hesitate at the invitation. 

‘’Oh, but dinner was more than enough, I don’t-’’ she starts, disappointment settling in in Maggie’s stomach until Alex’s friend interrupts her. 

‘’She’ll go for coffee.’’ Vasquez cuts her off with a grin. ‘’She’ll gladly go, with you, for coffee.” She enunciates, eyeing Alex glaringly.  

Maggie half-shrugs, trying to show Alex there's no pressure as she glares back at her friend, a faint blush covering up her cheeks. 

‘’Besides, you still have my coat.’’ Maggie points out with a smirk ‘’And I kind of need that.’’ 

Alex looks down and smiles, slowly nodding. Maggie does her best to not beam at her as the vet student joins her on the sidewalk, Vasquez waving at them smugly. 

 

They grab their drinks at a nearby coffee shop, not far from Alex’s apartment, deciding to just walk there like last night. All the while, they talk about Jack and their reunion, and Alex confides in having a border Collie named Gertrude, causing Maggie to laugh at the old but adorable name. 

‘’Come on, it’s not that bad, okay? She’s very friendly and has never complained about her name.’' Alex defends. 

‘’Whatever you say, Danvers. I’m just glad Jack’s chip didn’t say Harold or something.’’ Maggie chuckles out. 

Alex slaps her shoulder playfully and Maggie smiles at the ease of the gesture. 

‘’Ah, I got no lesson to give. I once dated a girl named Gisele.’’ The firefighter admits, Alex laughing at that and swallowing a sip of her coffee.  

‘’She was either much older or a lot younger.’’ Alex points out with arched eyebrows. 

‘Yeah, it was the latter. Never went for a millennial again.’’ Maggie shrugs, guilty as charged. ‘’She expected to have all my attention and to go to exciting places but never pay. Then, she had the nerve to call me names. Saying I was hard-headed, insensitive and obsessed with work.’’ 

Maggie finally shut off, not knowing why she overshared like this, but with Alex it’s easy. She isn’t afraid of being judged. 

‘’I don’t see what’s wrong with that. So, you know what you want, you care about your job and work hard. You’re far from being insensitive. You took in Jack with no hesitation. You save people for a living, Mags.” Alex reasons confidently. “What’s wrong is the way she told you that. If she didn’t see how amazing you are, that’s her loss.’’ 

Maggie stops walking at that, looking up at Alex shyly, a small smile tugging her lips at the new nickname. Alex seems to realize the impact of her words and stops as well a couple of feet away from her. 

‘’You getting soft on me?’’ Maggie says, her hands curling into fists in her pocket to stop herself from reaching forward and pulling Alex down into a kiss. 

‘’Pff-no.’’ Alex stutters, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Maggie grins and walks again, nudging the student’s shoulder as she passes by her, Alex huffing as she catches up to her.  

‘’Were all your exes horrible?’’ Alex asks, causing Maggie to snort ‘’No offense.’’ 

‘’None taken. Actually, they were some pretty great and fun. I always tell them I’m not looking for anything serious and they say they want the same but, in the end, they think they could change my mind. I feel like an asshole but I warned them, didn’t I?’’ Maggie defends herself, unsure. 

Alex seems to think about what she said for a moment, emptying her coffee in the meantime. She briefly looks at Maggie before shrugging. 

‘’You did warn them, but I think you can’t blame people for falling for you and for wanting more.’’ She finally answers softly. 

Maggie is speechless for a second, because she never understood why those girls fell for her. She always gave a bit of herself to them but it had never been enough.  

She was a bit closed off but didn’t keep them at arms’ length either, so what was the problem? Why did it never work? The way Alex talks, the way the words sounded coming out of her mouth, reminds her of a poetry class she had in college. An air of mystery always links with truth, love and pain. 

‘’But what do I know?’’ Alex laughs drily ‘’I've never had any real relationships except the best friend/girlfriend I had near the end of high school, a few hook-ups the first time I went to college and the library secretary I dated for a couple of months.’’ 

Maggie smiles at Alex, glad she trusts her enough to confide in her. Maybe it is easy for her too? 

‘’The library secretary, Danvers?’’ Maggie repeats playfully ‘’Nerd.’’ 

Alex laughs at that, throwing her head back and shrugging as they turn the corner of the street. But Maggie frowns when Alex's smile disappears as she takes in the open door of her apartment, a dog’s barks getting louder. 

‘’No, no, no!’’ Alex mumbles worriedly, running up the stairs. 

Maggie rushes behind her, not wanting Alex to just barge in on whoever broke into her house. 

‘’Alex, wait!’’ Maggie warns her but they both stop as a large and tall man with grey hair stands in Alex’s kitchen. 

Maggie moves to walk in front of the redhead but she stops her with a hand on her wrist, Alex’s head falling forward as the man smiles maliciously at her. 

‘’Don’t, Sawyer. That’s my landlord. He found Gertrude.’’ Alex explains. 

The firefighter doesn’t move though, not liking the way Alex’s landlord is snickering at her as Gertrude whines somewhere in the apartment. 

‘’I knew you were hiding something, Miss Danvers. The plumber came in to check on the sink and imagine my-not-surprise when he told me what he found.’’ he tells her, giving her a slip of paper. 

Alex sighs, unfolding it and cursing at the eviction notice. 

‘’Mr. Edge, please, I know I-’’ 

The man cuts her off, lifting his hands up, clearly not interested in what she had to say. Maggie really doesn't like him.  

‘’This is a clear violation of the Angel’s arms bylaws. It’s a class two infraction. Just get out of my property by the end of the day, Miss Danvers. I already found someone else for this apartment.’’ 

Alex simply glares at Mr. Edge. 

‘’Where is she?’’ she demands. 

Mr. Edge lifts an eyebrow at the aggressive tone of the question. 

‘’I put her in the back. Have a good day, Miss Danvers.’’ He scoffs. 

The owner comes to leave but Maggie steps in his way as Alex runs to the back of her apartment calling Gertrude’s name. 

‘’I assume you gave the tenant 48 hours' notice before the service person entered the residence.’’ Maggie questions bluntly. 

Mr. Edge simply rolls his eyes at her, not impressed. The firefighter retrieves her badge from her jacket, shoving it in Mr. Edge’s face. 

‘’You know I wonder if the fire codes are up to date on the 4 and 56 fire codes pertaining to apartment buildings and the mandatory bylaw stipulated in state statutes.” Maggie muses, calm but pissed off ‘’Just know I’ll be back next week to make sure of your compliance with each and every state and the city fire code. I hope I won’t have to write you up a 777 which would shut down your building.’’ 

Mr. Edge doesn’t even answer to the threat, walking away and grumbling. Maggie smiles in satisfaction and meets Alex’s brown eyes, a storm of emotions going through them. The firefighter walks to her, scratching Gertrude’s head, the pup looking at her with her tongue out. It almost seems like she’s smiling.  

Maggie lifts her head and frowns at the tear falling on Alex’s cheek. She reaches out and squeezes the student’s hand, the other rising to push her hair back behind her ear. 

‘’Hey, hey, it’ll be okay. I know it sucks, but I got you.’’ Maggie murmurs softly, hoping to reassure Alex. ‘’Look, until you find something, why don’t you come live with me?’' 

Alex immediately shakes her head, ready to refuse but Maggie stops her, stroking her cheek. 

‘’It’ll be temporary, okay? I have a big house, Danvers. There’ll be plenty of space for you to study and for this one to run around.’’ Maggie points out, rubbing Gertrude’s head ‘’Besides, she could be friends with Jack. God knows she won’t find them at the park with a name like that. She’ll be bullied.’’ 

Alex chuckles and pretends to punch her on the arm before pulling her into a hug. Maggie rubs the small of her friend’s back, feeling her breathe against her hair. Something warm is swirling in her stomach but Maggie blames the coffee she had earlier or even better, the dog sniffing her jacket. They eventually pull back and smile at each other. 

‘’Thank you, Maggie.’' 

The brunette struggles to swallow at the vulnerability in Alex’s eyes, resisting the urge to take her in her arms again. 

‘’Anything for you, Danvers.’’ Maggie answers, realizing how true the statement is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this?? Another romcom cliché?! You bet ;)  
> Would love to hear your thoughts!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do: Hey y'all, posting sooner so there's actual sanvers content on the tags x)  
> We love reading your comments everyone! Enjoy this new chapter!

Maggie grabs the last of Alex’s suitcases from her truck, not at all worried about the smile on her face when she walks through the door to see Alex putting Gertie down cautiously in front of Jack. 

The puppies bump noses a little as they sniff each other, Alex watching curiously before laughing jack trots small circles around Gertie and bends down low with a yap to ask her to play. 

 The sight sends a warmth to Maggie’s heart, the smile on her face feeling easy as she watches Alex shuffle over to the staircase, running her hand over the bannister as the puppies running off towards the kitchen. 

“I built it myself.” Maggie explains as she puts the bags down, shuffling over to Alex and grabbing the hand the red head has moving over the rails and pulling it to the bottom where it curves out decoratively. Maggie guides Alex’s fingertips to the small carving of ‘MS' hidden underneath the section and she practically chokes at the look of awe on the vet students face at the discovery.  

“You built a staircase?” She asks quietly.  

Maggie nods bashfully, pulling her hand from Alex’s before she gets flustered and running it over the back of her neck instead as she motions around the place. 

“Also most of the kitchen, the dining table and the fireplace, which isn't quite done yet.” She offers sort of shyly, not knowing what Alex will think of it. 

“That’s amazing!” Alex exclaims, excitement in her voice as she ducks past Maggie to the living room to see the fireplace. “I knew you were renovating but this is just...” 

“Its a start.” Maggie finishes with a smile. “Still gotta get the paint on and all that.” 

“Never chose a colour huh Sawyer?” Alex jokes, the sight if her smile making Maggie lose track of her senses for a moment. 

“Uh.. no. Haven’t found the one yet.” She explains, her heart leaping at the double meaning in her words as Alex nods. 

“I know what you mean.” The red head says softly, running her fingers over the paint cards on the couch. 

Maggie is about to say something about the walls when she's interrupted by the sound of yapping, Jack and Gertie running after each other before crashing onto the couch and rolling around until they’re content to just lie on each other. 

Alex laughs and shakes her head, Maggie doing the same as she watches the site. 

“I think they like each other.” Maggie muses. 

“I think Gertie just likes being able to run around without worrying about anyone knowing she’s here.” Alex remarks kind of contentedly, the tone making Maggie’s heart flip in her chest. 

“Well she’s... You're welcome here as long as you'd like.” Maggie offers gently. 

“Thanks.” Alex mumbles out. “It won’t be long I promise.” 

“As long as you'd like.” Maggie repeats, a smirk forming her face as Alex laughs a little and bites her lip. “There’s plenty of room and who knows, maybe you could learn some things and help out if you want.” Maggie reasons, hoping to give Alex some incentive to stay. 

“Deal.” Alex grins out. “Although I'm not sure helping with the house is enough for letting me sleep with you.” She reasons. 

Maggie raises an eyebrow at that and tilts her head as she tries not to laugh. Alex puzzles over it for a moment before snacking a hand to her face. 

“Oh no I didn’t... not like.. sleep with you I meant with the house and the sleeping but not with you I mean you'll be here and me too and the.. dogs and the.. sorry.” She rambles out messily, looking like she wants to physically jump into a hole in the wall to hide. 

Maybe the firefighter enjoys Alex’s flustered state a bit too much, but the blush rising on the student’s neck is purely delicious. And God, now she couldn’t help imagine what Alex had just said. 

“I know what you meant don't worry.” Maggie assures with a chuckle. “Come on, let me help get this stuff to your room.” 

Alex smiles and follows Maggie, grabbing some bags as they head for the stairs. The firefighter doesn't say anything, but she notices the way Alex still runs her fingers over the bottom edge of the rail to feel the engraving, a small tug on her heart making her smile at the unspoken gesture. 

She's definitely in trouble with this girl now. 

 

Alex steps back and wipes her hands across her old shirt, white and cream paint smeared all over it. She’s been staying with Maggie for two days now and wants to make herself useful. Maggie is working really hard at the firehouse and Alex with her lack of job, figures she could help her out with the renovation. 

“I think we got it.” She says, Jack and Gertie huffing happily at her with wagging tails as they stare up at the wall.  

The fresh paint makes Alex’s eyes water a little, but the mix of white, eggshell and pearl have finally created the soft glow Alex has been after all day. So she grins happily at the blank surface and looks to the puppies after a moment. 

“Think she'll like it?” Alex asks, expecting a bark in return, but another sound fills her ears instead. 

“She’ll love it.” Maggie voices quietly from the living room doorway. “You did this?” 

Alex nods, running a hand through her hair and regretting it when the feels paint streaking it a little. 

Maggie laughs and pulls her to the kitchen, pointing at the sink to make Alex wash her hands as she grabs a hand towel and runs it under the water as well. 

“Come down here a little.” She requests gently, Alex biting her lip nervously as she puts her chin to her chest so Maggie can run the towel through her hair to get the paint out. 

“Should be okay now.” Maggie smiles out, tossing the towel onto the countertop and leaning back on it. 

Alex shoves her hands into her pockets, not knowing what to say when all she wants is to not talk with this woman given the way she looks right now with the uniform and the smile... Alex is getting very lost with it. Thankfully she’s saved by the firefighter speaking up instead. 

“I'm thinking of ordering pizza. Wanna join me and Jack?” She asks, somewhat hopeful but a little reserved.  

Alex doesn't know what to make of it, torn between the obvious yes and the safe no. And she’s just too taken by the smile and the charm of the woman in front of her right now to risk the first. 

“I already ate so I'm actually gonna head to bed I think.” She explains, picking Gertie up from playing with Jack between their feet and heading for the stairs. “Hope you have a nice night and um...” Alex pauses, realizing she wants to say something she really shouldn’t. “I hope you have a nice night.” 

“You too.” Maggie offers, almost sadly. 

Alex nods and climbs the stairs, looking down to the puppy in her arms when she whines and fidgets. 

“What? She was just being nice asking us to have dinner, that’s all.” Alex reasons quietly, not really able to believe Maggie would want to have dinner with her of all people. “She doesn't see us like that.” 

 

Maggie grumbles as she leans against the counter even further, trying to see Alex as she walks up the stairs. Her eyes snap to Jack when he grumbles at her feet though. 

“What?” She questions. “I asked her to stay, what else was I supposed to do?” 

Jack looks at her and Maggie can swear he scoffs as he sulks over to her...their favourite chair. 

“Yeah I know. She makes me nervous and I don't know how to ask right.” Maggie admits, picking jack up and sitting down with him in her lap so she can pet him. “What if she said no if I asked her for real though? I mean she’s... she's different” The firefighter explains, grateful when Jack seems to remain silent in agreement. 

Maggie has thought about it a lot lately, what this actually all means. Granted it has been very brief and then pushed away thoughts, but still. Alex has got her wanting things she’s never wanted before, she’s got Maggie smiling at walls that are just the right colour and a staircase she actually thought she did a terrible job on. Alex makes her see things differently. And that’s not something Maggie is really used to. 

She sighs and runs her hands through Jack’s fur.  

“What are we gonna do boy?” She asks, Jack rolling onto his back to look up at her with a smile. 

Maggie rolls her eyes and scratches his stomach. 

“You're no help.” She grumbles, even with a smile on her face at how cute the puppy she's come to call her own really is. 

 

 

It’s been about a week since she’s moved in with Maggie and Alex has to admit she sort of likes it... a lot. Sure the brunette isn’t always home and most if the time when she is they mostly just chat and eat take out, work on the house or study. The last has proven to be the most catastrophic seeing as Maggie keeps distracting Alex with her inability to say the words on the flashcards, the failed attempts just making Alex gush and want to forget all about her tests. 

And a few weeks ago that might have been the worst thing Alex could ever think of, being distracted from her work. But with Maggie, Alex finds herself not caring if she gets and A or an A+ so long as Maggie is spending time with her. 

Yesterday was a late shift for the firefighter though, so Alex finds herself propping a ladder up on the front awning to climb up and hang Christmas lights, recalling the brunette telling her the other day that she misses the decorations from blue springs. She's about halfway done when a voice calls up at her form the driveway. 

“Hey Alex, you okay up there?” Maggie yawns out, uniform and bomber jacket draped over her body, hiding more of it than Alex prefers compared to the firefighters casual clothes. 

“Yep. Just getting you some lights for that Nebraska charm.” She jokes down to the brunette, smiling at herself when Maggie beams up at her, dimples in full effect. 

“Thanks Danvers, you shouldn't have.” Maggie reasons, even though Alex can see her tracing every light with her eyes and smiling at the thought of what they’ll look like tonight. 

“My pleasure.” Alex insists, threading some more of the Christmas lights over the house. 

“Dinner tonight? How about pasta from O'Brians?” Maggie asks, loading her gear into the truck 

“Sounds great.” Alex agrees happily, watching as Maggie leans into the backseat of her truck, laughing a little at how she has to go onto her toes to be tall enough to reach without climbing in. 

Maggie catches her staring though and Alex looks back to the lights in embarrassment when the firefighter smirks up at her. 

“Hey Danvers?” Maggie calls out. “Are you busy today, I mean you know, besides the lights?” 

“No, don’t think so.” Alex answers nervously. “Why?” 

Maggie shrugs a little, her boot scuffing the ground. “Do you want to come with me for this thing I have to do for work?” 

Alex thinks it over for all of two seconds before almost falling down the ladder and nodding. 

“Yeah I’d love to.” 

 

 

“That was so cute!” Alex exclaims as Maggie opens the door and smiles as the puppies jump around their feet, Alex continuing on. “I mean those kids were so excited to see you there and the looks on their faces..” Alex smiles happily and Maggie can’t help but laugh at the sight of Alex in a little plastic firefighters helmet. 

“Another day of service.” Maggie says dramatically, drawing a palm to her chest and puffing her uniform out jokingly. 

Alex chuckles a little but takes the helmet off, placing it carefully on the countertop. 

“I mean it you know.” Alex says softly, draping her arms over Maggie's shoulders comfortably. “I love how passionate you are about your job, even this part. It means a lot Maggie.” She assures, leaning in close. 

And Maggie can almost feel herself falling, trying desperately to pull Alex into kiss... but her eyes end up snapping open, the sight of the firehouse filling her vision and making her groan. 

“You okay there Sawyer?” Lucy questions with a grin. 

“Yeah.” Maggie grumbles, rubbing at her eyes as she pushes away from the table and paces around a bit to get some feeling in her legs and to distract herself from the words Alex did actually say to her yesterday that have ended up as fantasies in Maggie’s dreams apparently. 

“Just another day of service?” Winn chimes in teasingly from the corner where he and James are lounging around. 

Maggie groans and slumps back down at the table, head in her hands. 

“Please can we not talk about this?” Maggie asks pointlessly. 

“You like her Sawyer. Just get over it and make a move already.” James mumbles, huddling into Winn’s shoulder as he tries to nap. 

“I don't... well it's complicated.” Maggie settles on, other words that rush around in her head catching in her throat. 

“Ain’t nothing complicated about it.” Lucy reasons, pacing over to Maggie and pulling out the chair next to her to sit. “Now listen here Sawyer. I’ve been talking to my girl and she happens to be friends with none other than your miss Danvers.” She explains. “Now there's fate. And then there's working at your ex girlfriend's father's store, being friends with your coworker's girlfriend and being crazy hot.” Lucy chuckles out, Winn and James humming in agreement. “The universe is talking, so listen you idiot.” 

Maggie rolls her eyes and scoffs. 

“If the universe talks then maybe it should try listening to what we want for a change.” She retorts, leaving the table in a mood to go and try work off some of her frustration in the gym, even though she knows no matter how hard she works, hazel eyes will never leave her mind. 

 

Alex sits on the couch, absentmindedly running her hands through Jack’s fur, Gertie curled up by his side. For some reason the sight of the two of them together makes her smile, Alex’s chest light and airy every time they sniff at each other affectionately. 

There's something calming about it all, sitting here the soft white walls and still smelling the bacon Maggie made this morning. She rarely felt like this before. At home. She loves the house and seeing Maggie’s touches everywhere. It would be great if she’d stop thinking about the firefighter and the staircase and the things they could do in it... 

Alex shakes her head and Jack snorts as if he could read her mind. She rolls her eyes at him and reaches forward to grab her ringing cell phone on the coffee table. A small smile tugs her lips and Alex’s heart is annoyingly loud as she answers Maggie’s phone call. 

‘’Hello, Lieutenant.’’ she says, teasing her friend. 

A short laugh reaches her ear and Alex automatically knew something was up. 

‘’Hey, Danvers.’’ she replies, her words sounding broken. 

Alex sits up, alarmed, the dogs imitating her stance. 

‘’Maggie, what’s wrong?!’’ Alex asks, standing up and pacing around the room. 

‘’Alex, I’m fine. I’m at the hospital.’’ the other woman sighs ‘’There was an incident at work but I’m okay, I simply have a couple of scratches and a bruised shoulder.’’ 

The vet student’s mind is swirling with the worst scenario possible, but Maggie is still there, talking to her on the phone, so she must be okay, right? 

‘’But what happened?’’ she manages to question calmly. 

‘’Look, we’ll talk about it once I’m home, okay?’’ Maggie says and Alex ignores the flutter in her heart at the word home ‘’Um, Alex, the guys planned on giving me a ride but they had to answer another call and since you still have my truck...’’ 

Alex exhaled deeply, already looking for her jacket as Jack let out a distressed whine on the couch. 

‘’Don’t worry, Mags. I’ll be there in ten.’’ 

She turns around and squats in front Jack, rubbing his head. 

‘’Don’t worry, sweetie, your mama is fine. I’m gonna go get her.’’ Alex announces, standing up again ‘’Gertie take care of him.’’ 

 

Okay, maybe hearing Maggie on the phone reassured her at first, but now that they had hung up, she is starting to worry again. She just needs to see her friend.  

She parks Maggie’s truck in front of the building and quickly walks toward the automatic doors. Alex convinces herself to not just roam around like a mad woman and reaches the front desk. A nurse smiles at her curtly. 

‘’Hum, hi, I’m here to pick up Maggie Sawyer, she’s a firefighter...’’ 

‘’I know who she is.’’ she cut off her promptly ‘’Her whole squad took up the entire waiting area. She’s fine, honey. She’ll definitely live. She’s in the first room to your left.’’ 

Alex nods slowly at her dry statement and resists the urge to tell her off. She follows the nurse’s instruction and walks down the hall. Timidly peeking through the ajar door, Alex let out a sigh of relief. Without even thinking, she separates the distance and hugs Maggie tightly against her until the woman hisses in her ear. 

‘’Shit, I’m so sorry.’’ Alex apologizes, pulling back. 

Maggie’s hand moves to her left shoulder, the rest of her arm is in a sling. She has a couple of stitches on her forehead and mundane scratches on her neck but she otherwise seems fine. 

‘’See, Danvers, I’m okay.’’ Maggie reassures her with a grin, squeezing her elbow. 

Alex gulps, not understanding why she got so emotional suddenly. She was worried on the way to the hospital, she only now realizes that she is back where her father had been for years, cut off from the world for almost a decade. 

‘’God, I’m so relieved. Even Jack got worried.’’ Alex adds, hoping to lighten the mood ‘’What happened?’’ 

Maggie sighs and stood up, reaching out for her bomber jacket. She puts an arm in and Alex steps forward, helping her to adjust the navy coat on her shoulder. 

‘’We answered a call; a house was on fire. We swept all the room, got the family out when I heard a yap. When I saved the little girl hiding under her bed, she told me she couldn’t find Max, her dog.’’ Maggie tells her ‘’Anyway, I reached the laundry room and when I opened the door, the dog was there. I tried to get him out but the wall came down on me.’’ 

Alex covers her mouth with her hand. Things could have been so much worse. She could have died. 

‘’My team heard my alarm goes off and went back for me. I got a headache because the dog wouldn’t stop barking, but he’s fine too. Everything is okay, Alex.’’ Maggie finishes, trying to get the hospital bracelet off her wrist. 

Alex sighs, trying to get her emotions back in check. She stops Maggie and retrieve a pocket knife out of her purse. Maggie raises an eyebrow at that and smiles at her as Alex cut the bracelet off. 

‘’When I was a kid, before my parents adopted Kara, my dad and I went on a camping trip. He thought me how to start a fire, build shelter and gave me this knife, saying it could come handy for any giving moments.’’ Alex tells Maggie, rubbing her wrist to ease the irritation on her skin ‘’But despite everything he thought me, I felt so useless when we received the call that my dad got into a car accident. I had never been more scared in my life.’’ 

‘’Alex...’’ 

‘’Were you scared?’’ Alex cut her off. 

Maggie tips her head to the side and lifts her good arm to push a strand of Alex’s hair behind her ear.       

‘’Yeah, I was a little bit but I knew my team was coming for me and I knew people were waiting for me to come home.’’ She assures gently. 

Alex looks down, not able to hold Maggie’s eyes anymore, her touch and her gaze burning her. 

‘’Well, I’m glad you’re okay. You can expect some cuddles tonight.’’ Alex says with a smile. 

Maggie looks up at her with wide eyes, her tongue darting out to lick her lips. 

‘’I, uh... yeah?’’ she questions hesitantly. 

Alex frowns, confused by Maggie’s behaviour. 

‘’Yeah, Jack is the best and won’t want to let you go.’’ she clarifies ‘’In the meantime, I’m gonna take care of everything.’’ 

The firefighter exhales shakily and shakes her head with a small smile. 

‘’Seriously, Danvers, I’m fine. All I want is to go home, order some pizza and drink some beers.’’ Maggie chuckles out, hiding her previous nerves as best as possible. 

‘’Not if you’re on medication, you’re not.’’ Alex retorts, pulling the wheelchair by the door towards the bed. 

Maggie eyes her unhappily and glares at the wheel chair. 

‘I’m not going out on that.’’ she argues. 

Alex rolls her eyes at her stubbornness and misplaced ego. 

‘’It’s procedure. If you can survive a wall coming down on you, you can survive this.’’ Alex replies shortly. 

Maggie snickers but stands her ground. 

‘’Come on, can’t you just hold me up with these big arms of yours.’’ Maggie refutes, her fingers poking and squeezing her biceps. 

Alex shivers and shakes her head. 

‘’Compliments won’t get you anywhere, Lieutenant. Or should I call you Princess on account of how difficult you’re being?’’ Alex teases back, standing behind the chair ‘’Princess, your chariot awaits.’’ 

Maggie sits down on the chair reluctantly, mumbling under her breath. 

‘’Call me princess one more time and I’m kicking you out.’’ she grumbles, though Alex can feel her smile through her words. 

 

Alex drives them slowly back home and the moment they cross the threshold, Jack jumps off the couch, Gertrude following him close. Maggie coos at him but Alex picked the white Labrador up so she didn't have to bend down. 

‘’I can handle picking up my boy, Danvers.’’ she sighs. 

The redhead blushes but glares at her shoulder and Maggie relents, accepting Jack’s poking nose and licks in her necks. 

‘’I’m okay, buddy, I’m okay. You got worried over nothing, I’m home now.’’ Maggie mutters to her puppy before feeling a bit self-conscious for babying him in front of the vet student. 

She clears her throat and reaches her good arm toward Gertrude, to pat her head softly. She whines and smiles up at her, making Maggie chuckles. Walking into the house, she does her best to slip off her jacket without hurting herself too much. 

‘’God, I’m in dire need of a shower.’’ Maggie complains, touching the ashes and dust covering her head. 

Alex cough and sheepishly follow Maggie to the kitchen, burying her hands in the pocket of her jeans. The firefighter half-smirk at the adorable girl. 

‘’I don’t know about the shower but I can wash your hair if you want.’’ the girl offers. 

Maggie’s stomach does somersault. Her first instinct is to refuse and basically flee upstairs, but she really wants to get rid of the dirt and a part of her couldn’t pass up the opportunity to feel Alex’s hands on her. 

‘’I don’t want to trouble you, Alex...’’ she hesitates before Alex cut her off. 

‘’It’s no trouble at all. I did it for my sister all the time when we were teenagers.’’ she replies. 

Maggie bite her lip and knew she isn’t in a position to refuse. She doesn’t really have the energy to fight either, it had been such a long day. 

‘’Okay, Danvers.’’ 

Alex smiles at her with her eyes and Maggie is once more in awe of this woman’s beauty. The vet student pulls a chair toward the kitchen’s sink and left the room, before coming back with a towel, a brush and a bottle of shampoo.  

The lieutenant braved a fire today, got a family and a dog out and almost died in the process but it seems that this right here would be her death. What a sweet death would it be? 

She carefully sits in the chair and Alex faces her, pushing her hair backward. She takes a moment to lean her head back and massages her neck. Maggie can’t help but moan and closes her eyes, appreciating the woman’s soft and long fingers.  

‘’Hey, you ready?’’ she hears Alex murmurs, suddenly feeling Alex’s minty breath on her cheeks. 

Maggie opens her eyes promptly, slightly startled, finding Alex’s brown eyes looking right back at her with a soft smile. She relaxes instantly but her hand curls around the chair, wondering how she would survive the next ten minutes. 

‘’Just relax, Mags. It’ll feel good.’’ 

The firefighter stops her body from shivering at Alex’s words. The woman isn’t helping her at all. She finally hears the water falling down in the sink and waits a moment until Alex helps her gently lean her head backwards. Maggie sighs, feeling the warm water in her hair. 

She hears Alex pop the shampoo bottle and feels the cool liquid on her head before Alex start massaging her scalp, her fingers carefully threading her long hair. The experience suddenly makes Maggie emotional. It reminded her of a mundane afternoon when she came back from school with gouache in her hair. Her mom had laughed with her, softly encouraging her to kneel on the chair in front of the sink. 

In all her adult life and all her meaningless relationship, she never let anyone washes her hair. Maggie fights the tears at the corner of her eyes, exhaustion and fear from her shift dawning on her. This quiet and intimate moment with Alex makes her feel as if her heart is bare with all its scars but without its wall. It scares her. 

Alex then starts to hum to a non-existent song and Jack comes lay down on her feet, warming them up. Maggie doesn’t care if she’s crying or laughing anymore, she hasn’t felt this free and this cared for in a long time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do: Hello, everyone! We can't thank you enough for your amazing feedback. They really brightened my week! Let's all ignore the canon crap and focus on those two idiots falling in love.  
> We really hope you'll like what's coming, enjoy! :D

It’s early. Too early for Maggie to be awake, especially considering the rough shift she had yesterday and only dragged herself into bed at three in the morning due to concussion precautions. Well... when Alex had practically carried her up here that is.

But for some reason, Maggie can feel herself being pulled from her sleep, fingers bunching in the sheets as she groans. Behind her closed eyes, she could still feel the ghost of her nightmare, her burning house burying the last fight her parents had, threats unfulfilled and words never forgotten.

She flinched when a blaring starts to fill her ears and Maggie snap her eyes open. She bolts upright in panic at the realisation that the fire alarm is screaming throughout the house, the smell of smoke filling Maggie’s senses as her mind races back to the dark room of her old home, of crying out for her parents as the flames crawled up the walls.

Maggie finds that her heart races for something else in this moment, her mind going straight to Alex, worrying about her safety.

“Alex!” Maggie yells, rushing out the bedroom and charging down the hall to the stairs.

She practically falls down them in her panic to find the vet student, the smoke getting stronger now.

“Alex! Where are you?!” Maggie calls out, instinctively running towards the burning smell.

She crashes into the kitchen, breathless and on edge with the adrenalin in her veins. But the woman stops in her tracks, stunned into silence at the image of Alex in her sleep shorts and tank top, headphones hanging from her ears as she whines in pain, turning on the faucet and slip her finger under the cold water.

Maggie takes a deep breath, her lungs ceasing to function a little with all of this. She glances over to the small portable stove she set up the other day, something smoking and crackling angrily in the ruined pan. The firefighter shuffles over and moves it off the element, flicking the switch off, before climbing onto a chair to turn the fire alarm off.

She tries to calm her nerves as she walks up behind Alex cautiously. Even though she was careful not to, Maggie startles Alex a little when she gently touches her the shoulder.

“Maggie?!” Alex yells out in relief as she clamps a hand over her chest. “You scared me!”

Maggie flinches a little, unable to keep the smile off her face as she chuckles and motions at her ears. Alex frowns a little, trying to figure out what Maggie is telling her, until the students eyes go wide in realisation. Maggie chuckles under her breath as Alex tugs her earphones out, a hand brushing her short hair back nervously. 

“Sorry.” Alex blushes out. 

“You're okay.” Maggie assures gently, turning off the water and inspecting the student’s finger.

Alex shakes her head frustratingly, half pouting and wincing.

‘’I wanted to make you breakfast, do something nice for you. You’ve been working so hard lately and with yesterday... You deserved the rest.’’

Maggie keep her eyes down but couldn’t stop the smile at the corner of her lips. She forces Alex to walk backward until she sits on the chair she had just pulled out to get at the alarm.

‘’You’re very sweet, Danvers, but I don’t think burning my house down will help me.’’ Maggie winks at Alex over her shoulder as she picks up the first aid kit from the cupboard.

She hears the other woman groan behind her and Maggie lets out a small laugh. Alex’s face is in her hands, mumbling insults toward herself. Maggie takes pity on her and kneel in front of her friend, bringing her hands down. Their eyes meet and a strangely comforting silence surrounds them, Alex blushing vigorously. Maggie of course can’t help but find her beautiful with her tousled hair, slightly too small tank top and pyjama shorts. If she's honest it's quite the sight to have in her kitchen this early in the morning.

‘’Hey, I appreciate all of this even if you didn’t have to, Alex, I promise.’’ Maggie says, taking out soothing gel and a bandage ‘’Now, the good news is, you’ll be fine, it’ll heal nicely and quickly. The bad news is, breakfast is unsalvageable.’’ She informs playfully, hoping Alex won't be upset by it. 

When Maggie is met with silence and looks up, she's dazed by the way Alex is looking at her. There is a spark in her Hazel eyes that's warming up her stomach and the firefighter doesn’t know if she likes it or not. It doesn’t help that the vet student seems deep in thoughts, biting her lower lip, the red on her cheeks contrasting seductively on her pale skin. 

Maggie struggles to get back on her feet, feeling the low and familiar ache tugging slightly in her stomach. She clears her throat and takes a step back toward the burned pan, throwing out the ruined eggs. She avoids looking at Alex as she uses the distance to breathe a little, slipping the pan under the water for a few seconds. She eventually closes her eyes and berates herself, the lieutenant turning around towards the still shy redhead, wiping her hands with a towel.

‘’What do you say we go out for breakfast? We could go to your favourite diner?’’ Maggie suggests, managing to hide her nerves with a confident smile.

Alex blinks at her, surprised, rubbing the back of her neck as she gets up.

‘’Um, yes, yeah, I’d lo-like too. I, um, I’m going to get dressed and we’ll go.’’ Alex offers nervously.

Maggie smile at her widely and nods slowly.

‘’Good, it’s a date.’’ she calls out, thinking over the words for a moment before the panic sets in, realizing what she just said.

Alex is staring at her with her big doe eyes and while Maggie expects her to freak out, she just seems...serene.

‘’Okay, but I’m buying.’’ she answers, pointing at her with a grin.

Maggie shakes her head and scoffs, the woman still somehow managing to surprise her.

‘’No way, I’m inviting you.’’ Maggie argues, not recalling the last time someone paid for her meal.

Alex simply shrugs, walking out of the kitchen to the hallway as Maggie follows in parallel in the living room.

‘’And I burned breakfast, soooo.’’ Alex replies with a teasing glint in her eye ‘’Chop, chop, Sawyer. Get dressed.’’

Maggie looks down on the couch where Gertrude and Jack are cuddling up adorably.

‘’This is much easier for you, guys.’' She mumbles at them. 

Jack rolls his eyes as Gertrude barks at her and Maggie can almost feel the collie telling her to man up. The firefighter bend in front of the black and white puppy.

‘’I gave you guys a place to stay, that is no way to talk to me.’’ Maggie grumbles before scratching both the dogs’ ears before heading upstairs to change for their breakfast... date?

They came back home a few hours later after a quick detour at the supply store. Maggie didn’t tell Alex but she secretly kept the dinner’s journal in which the both of them had completed the crosswords. It’s probably silly but Maggie could feel that Alex would become an important part of her life.

They were now in the living room, working on the fireplace, meticulously placing the stones and securing them with cement. Maggie keep sneaking glances to her partner wearing one of her own t-shirt. It’s an old thing from college and even has holes in it, Alex’s collarbone peeking through. The top of her hair is wrapped in the smallest bun and Maggie finds it adorable, liking that Alex’s face was exposed. 

At some point, Alex pauses her work and Maggie looks away, realizing she’s been staring at a drop of cement on the student’s neck. The redhead kneels and laid the cement carefully on the gray stone, making sure it doesn’t drip.

‘’You’re pretty good at this.’’ Maggie notices, her eyes set on the student’s hands.

Steady. Soft. Attentive. Maggie shakes her head as Alex turns her gaze toward her with a grin on her lips. Confident Alex is such a sight, wiping her hands on her ripped jeans, standing up.

‘’Thanks. My dad and I build one like this when I was around 15. He taught me everything I know.’’ she tells her, her eyes afar, as if the memory is splayed on the wall behind Maggie. 

‘’Do you see him a lot?’' Maggie asks, curious but not wanting to make the other woman uncomfortable.

Alex sighs and shrugs, going back to the task at hands. Maggie joins her, feeling that she would be more comfortable to share if they are doing something meanwhile.

‘’It was hard when he first woke up. He had a lot of rehabilitation to do, learn how to walk and even to talk. I was so happy and relieved. I don’t know, I guess I was a bit naïve, thinking everything would go back to normal.’’ Alex tell her with a self-deprecating laugh ‘’That I could just go back to being a kid but I was an adult already. And I hadn’t realized it at the time but all that pressure, it caused a drift between me and my mother.’’

Maggie listen attentively, frowning at Alex’s story. She wishes she had known her back then. They could have been friends and helped each other. Alex smiles at Maggie, the shadow now lifted from her eyes.

‘’We worked on our relationship, she and I. I got to know my father again. My parents still live together at my childhood house near the coast. I’m really happy they made it through.’’ Alex admits with a soft smile ‘'I try to visit them every few weeks, but lately with losing my job and my apartment, I didn’t have the courage to go see them.’’

Maggie reaches out, stroking the student’s shoulder with her thumb and chuckles as Gertie yaps in an attempt to comfort her owner despite being too lazy to get up from the couch where she was lying with Jack on her back.

‘’It’s okay for you to take time for yourself, Alex. You’ve been through a lot and you deserve a break.’' Maggie reassures her.

Alex sighs and put her hand over Maggie’s squeezing it. She met her eyes and Maggie couldn’t look away even if she tries.

‘’Thanks, Maggie. Being here really helps, it’s been a while since I’ve done some handy work. I’ve missed it.’’ Alex informs her ‘’You know, my dad let me destroy our old fireplace with a mace. My mom was so pissed but man, I had fun.’’

Maggie joins her laugh to Alex’s, trying to imagine her as a teenager, liking to destroy stuff. Alex sat back against her hand and looks at Maggie curiously.

‘’Do you believe in love at first sight?’’

The firefighter stops breathing for a second and a strange noise comes out of her throat.

‘’Huh? What?’’ she dumbly asks.

She follows Alex’s finger as she points behind her. Maggie quickly turn to look at Gertie sighing happily while Jack is licking her ears.

‘’They make it look so easy.’’ Maggie comments, smiling at the puppies.

Alex hums, causing the lieutenant to look back at her. The redhead looks so relax with her eyes half-closed.

‘’My mom used to say that falling in love with the right person is easy.’’ Alex adds.

The statement makes Maggie’s heart pound loudly against her chest. She feels like her heart had been coated with cement too, making it heavy.

‘’I never felt that.’’ Maggie says, not sure if it was completely honest.

Alex smiles gently, her eyes now closed as she plays with the hole in the collar of her shit.

‘’Yeah, me neither. Doesn’t mean it’s less true.’’

 

*** 

Alex taps her fingers by her side nervously, pacing a little in the kitchen. She hadn't been sure about this idea when it first came to mind but here she is anyway, blue dress on, hair curled loosely. And if she's honest with herself she's not really sure why this is happening.

Sure her and Maggie have been... well they've been doing something. And after their breakfast incident yesterday, Alex just isn't sure what exactly that is. But she's hoping this, tonight, will answer that question.

She rolls her eyes when Gertrude grumbles at her, Jack looking up with a playful look on his face at the sound, the image of hers and Maggie's dogs together in such a way making Alex's heart race for some reason.

But it practically leaps out of her chest when the sound of the front door unlocking sounds through the house.

Alex listens, dead quiet as Maggie drops her gear bag in the entrance, the sound of her boots landing heavily spiking a new level of nervousness as Alex hears her shut the door.

"Hey Al, you here?" Maggie calls, her voice echoing as she makes her way through the hall. "I was thinking we cou-"

Maggie cuts herself off, eyes darting over Alex as the student holds her breath.

"Hi." Alex manages to force out past a tight smile.

"Hi." Maggie breathes back a little distractedly. She shakes her head a bit, the action confusing Alex, especially when Maggie speaks up again.

"I uh... where.. where are you off to tonight then?" She asks, her usual smile settling onto her face with the question. "Got a hot date somewhere Danvers?" 

Alex's berates herself for thinking the only hot date she wants is with the firewoman in front of her. The way Maggie seems to nonchalantly brush the idea that Alex is standing here, in the middle of her kitchen, in this outfit... well it makes Alex's mind race to find a way out of the sudden embarrassment. Of course, Maggie wouldn't want to do this with her. God she's so stupid.

"Oh um.. yeah." Alex rushes out, taking the opportunity to escape the situation she's found herself in. "Woman I met at the market today, we're going to the Italian place downtown." She lies smoothly. She had actually booked a table for herself and Maggie but...

"Oh that's awesome." Maggie offers, her attention mostly going to the dogs as she kneels down to pet Gertrude, much to the apparent pleasure of Jack who just snuggles into Alex's dog even more.

"Yeah." Alex mumbles under her breath, beyond irritated at herself.

She's starting to feel more and more like a fool the longer she stays here, so Alex grabs her bag and decides to call Kara on the way so they can have dinner together instead.

She's barely made it out of the kitchen when Maggie grabs her arm and pulls her to a stop.

"If you..." she starts, drifting off as she bites her cheek in thought. 

"If I?" Alex prompts, the feeling of Maggie's fingers still holding her arm firmly making her heart thrash against her ribs.

Maggie swallows and ducks her head, hiding her face a little before she looks back up, Alex getting kind of lost in the ebony of her eyes.

"If you need an out... just call me and I'll come get you." Maggie offers.

"Oh." Alex lets out. "Okay I'll um... I'll do that." She murmurs disappointedly, clenching her jaw when Maggie nods and let's her arm go.

"Have a good time." She smiles, her dimples just making the ache in Alex's chest worse.

"I will." Alex lies quietly. "There's still pasta on the stove from lunch if you want it." She says, motioning over to the newly hooked up appliance.

"You know how to connect a stove?" Maggie questions a little shocked, even as a smile settles in her eyes.

"Yeah. I had time so..." Alex just shrugs, offering Maggie a tight smile as she heads out, her heels clicking when she reaches the tiles of the entryway and reaches for the front door.

She can hear Maggie start running through the living room to catch up to her before the brunette’s voice even reaches her ears.

"Hey Alex." Maggie calls out gently, her socks slipping a little on the tiles as she stops in front of the student.

"Yeah?" Alex questions, the spark of hope that lights in her chest at the softness in Maggie's features, the way she bites her lip nervously as she starts a little, trying to say something.

Eventually the firewoman just takes a breath, the sound drawing Alex a little closer to her for some reason.

"You look really beautiful." Maggie whispers, her eyes focusing ever so briefly on Alex's own before finding the floor bashfully.

“Thanks.” Alex murmurs quietly, heading for the door when Maggie doesn’t speak up again. But it doesn’t last long.

“Tomorrow do you think we could do something?” Maggie rushes out before Alex can leave.

“Like?” Alex urges.

Maggie looks around a little, seeming to think intensely for a moment before huffing.

“Well we could use some more decorations, what do you think?” she asks, smiling like it’s an invitation to the best party of the year. To Alex it practically feels like it is.

“I think that would be fun.” She offers happily. “I'll see you later.”

“See you.” Maggie says quietly, this time turning back to the kitchen as Alex pulls on the door to leave.

The student grumbles over her failed plan, digging in her purse for her phone and dialling Kara.

“Hey sis, wanna come have dinner with me?”

*** 

 

“What are we doing now Danvers?” Maggie grumbles, smiling when Alex shoots her a hint of a glare for whining. “Don't give me that look, how many more Christmas decorations does one house need?” She chuckles, bumping Alex’s shoulder.

They’d finished up with breakfast at the dinner and decided to get a few more decorations for the house, the bags in Maggie's truck ready to be thrown out in the living room and the ornaments inside hung from the walls.

“You can never have enough!” Alex proclaims, pointing at Maggie and raising her eyebrows. “Besides what’s Christmas without all the decorations and the traditions.”

Maggie shrugs a little at that.

“I dunno.” She admits. “I usually work Christmas so the guys can spend time with their families ya know.”

“That must be hard.” Alex states softly, seeming a little sad by the admission.

“Its no big deal really.” Maggie assures. “It's pretty calm and the kids all come down to look at the truck and I... wear a Santa outfit and everything.”

Alex laughs and pulls on Maggie’s sleeve in excitement.

“Oh my god that’s so great! I bet you rock a Santa hat.” She chuckles out, motioning to Maggie’s head playfully.

“Oh I so do.” Maggie retorts with a smile, glad that Alex isn’t upset about her working Christmas like other woman in her life have been before. “So what about you? Any traditions you do at Christmas?” she asks the student as they dodge past kids running from stores with wrapping paper and bows in their hands.

“A few.” Alex hints, smiling a little at Maggie in way that the firefighter understands to mean that she’ll find out later. “But this year I’m actually volunteering at the adopt a pet event in the park, I think it'll be fun. And I can bring Gertie, so win win for me.” She smiles put happily.

“That’s great Alex.” Maggie returns genuinely, adoring how caring and giving this woman is. “I hope it goes well and the animals find good homes.”

“Me too.” Alex says with a soft smile.

Maggie gets lost in it for a moment, almost walking into a store sign on the pavement before Alex laughs and pulls her down the street quickly.

“What is this?” Maggie questions, never having come to this part of town during Christmas time to avoid all the people.

“A tradition.” Alex beams out. “And to answer your earlier question, if you must know Sawyer, we are here... for those.”

Maggie follows Alex’s excited gaze to a small field of Christmas trees that’s been set up in the middle of town, the branches on some decorated with fake snow, others deep green from the coastal towns up North.

“Christmas trees?” Maggie questions, stumbling a little as Alex tugs her amongst the bristles and branches.

“Cant have Christmas without one Maggie.” Alex resolves, focused intently on the trees as she leans back and to the sides, inspecting every detail in a way that makes Maggie laugh to herself at how cute Alex looks as she frowns at an essential pile of sticks.

“What are you doing?” Maggie questions when Alex leans back at almost a forty five degree angle to look at a tree from that perspective.

“Tree test.” Alex offers as if it’s the most common answer in the world, Maggie following after her as she moves onto another tree and leans again.

“Test?” Maggie urges, gently requesting Alex explains by tugging on her sleeve.

Alex smiles shyly and runs a hand through her hair as she focuses on Maggie.

“Well its... my mom used to do it with me and I’ve kinda kept the habit I guess.” Alex reasons, Maggie grabbing her hand cautiously to let her know she’s okay to continue.

“So what you do is, find your tree.” Alex explains, pulling Maggie in front of her so that the firefighters back rests on her chest as her arms wrap around her waist securely. “And you lean back.”

Maggie holds onto Alex’s arms tightly, surprised by the apparent strength in the woman as she leans back so they are almost level with the centre of the tree.

“If it’s full of bristles and not patchy, you stand up again and lean left.” Alex chuckles out, Maggie holding her breath a little at feeling the sound against her back. “And you lean right.” Alex tilts them the other way, her voice soft as she brings them back up straight and pulls on Maggie’s waist so they step back from the tree.

“And if it’s all good, then it passes the test.” Alex finishes, looking down at Maggie as the firefighter looks up at her over her shoulder.

And Maggie wants nothing more than to reach up and close the space, wants to quiet the way her heart is beating like a drum in her chest, but Alex’s eyes suddenly flit away nervously, the student letting Maggie go and stepping away with a shy smile as she shoves her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

“That’s um... I think your mom was a smart lady Danvers.” Maggie offers with a smile, happy when it seems to put Alex at ease.

The vet student looks up at her and smiles as she nods in thanks, her eyes drawing over the firefighters shoulder a little.

“That’s the one.” Alex whispers, pacing past Maggie and reaching out to run her fingers over a tree hidden in the corner.

“The one?” Maggie says, panic rising slightly in her voice at hearing those words in Alex’s voice, every doubt she’s had about being something more with this girl racing through her head. “But what if it’s not the one? What if you think it is and then you get it home and the decorations don't fit right or it looks out of place.” She rambles out, the metaphor sounding dumb in her head as the words leave her mouth.

Alex looks at her in slight confusion, tilting her head.

“Then we make it work.” She offers simply with a smile, turning back to the tree and running her hands over it gently. “But I know it's perfect.”

Maggie cant help but feel calm at the resolve in Alex’s voice, her doubts silenced easily by the smile of the woman in front of her.

“I trust you.” Maggie offers, steeping up beside Alex and touching the tree. “Let’s get it.”

***

 

Alex sighs, emptying her glass of wine as Vasquez snicker at her.

“She's just so beautiful, crazy smart even though she doesn’t know it and she cares so much about her work it's... god I don’t know what to do.” Alex mumbles into her hands, sinking into Susan’s couch as her friend settles beside her with a box of Christmas ornaments to sort through.

“What do you want to do?” Susan questions, holding a bauble in Alex’s face for her to choose.

“Don’t hang it.” Alex advises, the plastic ball flying towards the trash can at the remark as Alex continues. “I want... her.” She reasons poorly, not sure how to put into words all the moments of wanting to kiss Maggie or hug her, hold her hand as they walk or pull her close after finishing a section of the house.

“Well Lucy says she likes you, so go for it.” Susan says with a chuckle, Alex slapping her knee a little at the mention of her friends girlfriend.

“I still can’t believe they work together.” Alex repeats for the fifth or so time. “But I don’t know if Lucy is just being a wise ass about it.” She reasons, knowing from what Vasquez has said that her girlfriend can be quite the practical joker.

“Hey.” Susan says, putting the box of Christmas decorations aside and shuffling a little closer to Alex. “She’s not joking about this. She wants Maggie to be happy just as much as I want you to be.” 

Alex smiles and pulls her friend into a hug.

“Thanks Vas.” She mumbles as they pull apart. “I don’t know... I'm just nervous I guess. It's still not a guaranteed thing that she likes me too.” Alex explains.

Susan shakes her head, looking like she’s about to lecture Alex on the topic, but her eyes dart to the Christmas box and she rummages in it before pulling out a piece if mistletoe.

“What’s that for?” Alex questions.

“You want an answer on if she likes you? This is how you get it.” Susan reasons, dangling the branch above them playfully. “You get her under this, if she kisses you then she likes you.”

“And if she doesn’t kiss me?” Alex asks a little shakily, taking the mistletoe from Vasquez and holding it in her lap.

“She will.” Susan assures confidently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how that'll go...


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do: Hello, everyone! Sorry for haven't updating sooner, we added a last minute scene after some...requests ;)  
> The story is slowly coming to an end so enjoy while it last. As always, we thank you for reading this story and showering us with comments, love and encouragement xx

“Does that look right?” Alex questions, coming down off her toes and eyeing the mistletoe hanging over the living room entryway. 

Gertie grumbles a little as Jack pants happily beside her, both looking a little too interested in each other than what Alex is trying to do. 

“Gertie! You're meant to be helping.” Alex sighs out, squatting down to pet the puppies to try calm her nerves. So she's grateful when Jack actually puts his front laws up on her thigh and taps at her. 

Alex nods and takes a breath.  

“I'm just nervous... and scared.” Alex admits to the pets. “This probably isn’t even a good ide-" Alex cuts herself off as she hears Maggie’s keys scrapes into the front door, her heart leaping into her throat at the sound. 

“Shit.” Alex berates herself quietly, pacing a little and running a hand through her hair. It’s too late to take it down now... she may as well go with the plan and see what happens. 

She leans on the entryway as casually as possible, which by the huff from Gertie probably isn’t casual at all as Maggie comes in drops her bag by the door, spotting Alex and smiling widely. 

“Hey Danvers.” She offers, tugging her jacket off and putting it on top of her bag. “Good day? You were catching up with Vasquez right?” 

“Yeah yeah, it was good.” Alex stammers out as Maggie walks closer. 

“Great.” Maggie says with a smile, walking towards the student. 

Alex leans in a little when Maggie stalls in front of her, eyes roaming her face a little before the firefighter clears her throat a little and ducks past Alex and head for the kitchen, passing right under the mistletoe.  

It sinks Alex’s heart, her mind calling her out for being such an idiot for thinking this would ever work. Maggie doesn’t like people like her. What was she thinking? 

“I'll um... I'll see you later.” Alex calls out to the brunette, shaking her head as she makes for the stairs to hide in her room. 

But she stops when Maggie calls out to her, the firefighter leaning out from the kitchen. 

“You're leaving?” Maggie questions gently, eyes asking a different question Alex can’t quite understand. 

“Yeah... why?” She returns, shuffling on her feet a little awkwardly at the way Maggie is looking at her. 

“Oh well I was just um... I thought you could help me... put the new tiles in the bathroom.” Maggie gets out shakily. 

Alex chokes back the way her heart just wants her to go cry upstairs as she nods and smiles tightly.  

“Yeah sure, I'll be there in a second.” She offers, Maggie's relieved smile making Alex lose her train of thought for a second as the brunette heads back into the kitchen.  

Alex soon snaps out of it, her hands flying up to the mistletoe to try tug it from the doorway.  

“Come on get off.” Alex grumbles under her breath, smiling triumphantly as the decoration obeys. 

She turns to put the decoration the trash bin, but is stopped by Maggie standing right in front if her. 

“Oh.” Alex startles a little. “I was jus-" 

She gets cut off as Maggie’s hands find her jaw gently and pull her in, her lips so much softer than Alex imagined. For a moment Maggie pulls back and Alex worries that she was so distracted by the sudden kiss that she’s missed it completely. But Maggie just smiles and leans in again, Alex sighing happily at the taste of Maggie on lips and the way her body feels like its floating at the gentle kiss. 

“Sorry.” Maggie murmurs against Alex’s lips as she pulls back a little. “Didn't have a choice.” 

“What?” Alex breathes out, lost a little in how deep Maggie’s eyes are this close. 

Maggie chuckles a little and points to the decoration in Alex’s hands. 

“The mistletoe.” She explains quietly. 

Alex just nods a little, not trusting her words as Maggie moves away from her, Alex’s body keening a little at the loss as the firefighter smiles gently and heads back to the kitchen. And where her heart was only seconds ago wanting to hide away and never be seen again, it now beats against Alex’s ribs like crazy. 

The only thought Alex has in her head is that Maggie kissed her, the realization of what that means actually making Alex dance a little on the spot. 

“You coming Danvers?” Maggie calls from the kitchen 

“Yeah I'll be right there.” Alex responds happily, smiling at Gertie as the pup sticks her head out of the kitchen with a curious look on her face. 

“It worked.” Alex whispers happily to the puppy. “She likes me.” 

 

Maggie paces a little anxiously in the bathroom, kicking at some of the loose tiles beneath her boots.  

She can't really believe what she just did, fingers running over her lips to see if the contact feels anything close to how soft Alex’s lips were. It’s not. And Maggie can’t even stop her mind from wandering back to the moment, the split second it took Alex to realize what was happening...the way her body felt like a magnet when Maggie had to step back.  

“So what’s happening here?” Alex questions gently, practically waltzing into the bathroom and throwing a grenade into Maggie’s thoughts.   

“What? Huh? Umm well I don't know what we um..” Maggie rushes out, head still spinning as she fiddles with the waistband of her cargo pants.  

“You wanted the grey tile right? White grouting on the edge?” Alex recants confusedly, shuffling a bag of tile grouting to a spot on the bathroom floor that already has the old floorboards ripped off.  

Maggie takes a breath at the realization that Alex wasn't talking about them.  

“Yeah yeah. Right, yes the white.” Maggie affirms, half laughing at herself.  

She kneels down beside Alex and helps mix some of the tiling mix, the powder floating around them like a soft cloud in a way that makes Maggie intensely aware that she should stay focused on the house and not the way the powder catches in Alex’s hair and on the fabric of her tank top.  

“Okay, I'll lay and you seal?” Alex asks with a smile, lining a few of the tiles up beside herself, Maggie watching the motion, the way her fingers hold the heavy squares steadily.  

“Sure.” Maggie whispers out, still lost in the aftermath of what had just happened.  

Alex nods and starts pressing the tiles into the thin layer of cement layered across the area, moving along slightly and doing another, each one perfectly spaced and handled with a care that makes Maggie’s jaw clench. She doesn’t know how Alex appear so calm after the kiss they shared. She doesn’t know what it means to her.  

The lieutenant had seen the mistletoe when she came home, but hadn’t quite understood Alex’s intention with it. The student is sort of obsessed with the Christmas stuff and at first Maggie thought that maybe it was just another tradition. But when she walked past Alex and realized that the woman was about to leave, Maggie decided to not listen to her fears for once.  

Oh, how she wishes she had done it before. Because it felt incredibly good, the still lingering sensation actually scares Maggie. The thought of not doing it again is practically paralyzing her and making her hands shake as she wipes the tile with a clean cloth. She lets out a deep breath and decides to take a break to try and ease the tension. Sitting back against the wall, she picks up her beer, taking a large sip.  

If she's being honest with herself, Maggie has no idea what is going on, why she isn't able to control her thoughts and frankly, her body. The sensation of it only gets worse the longer she spends watching Alex work, the mundane task that should have Maggie bored and rushing to get done, now proving to be more a test of Maggie’s self-control more than anything else.  

It isn’t until Alex wipes her forehead with the back of her hand, the muscle flexing in her arm, that Maggie is afraid that she can't keep herself in check anymore. She tries to look away but her eyes can’t help but travel back to the other woman in the room. Alex’s neck is somewhat exposed except for the few baby hairs falling out of the small ponytail, the end touching the small layer of sweat shining off Alex’s shoulder blades.  

Maggie’s gaze travels along the black tank top clinging tight to the student’s body, paired with gray sweat pants and Maggie never thought such a sight would make her stomach churn, her guts  _tingle with need._ Maggie subconsciously wets her lips, leaning forward slightly before she can think to stop herself. 

Alex must hear her sharp breath because her shoulders tense and her jaw points toward her almost imperceptibly. Maggie wonders if the woman is avoiding her eyes. They barely spoke since the kiss.  

‘’Is there something on your mind, Sawyer?’’ Alex asks with a hint of smile on her pink lips as she turns onto herself, her elbow leaning on her knee, imitating Maggie’s stance.  

Maggie’s eyes immediately drop to Alex’s mouth. She wants to swipe the smile off of it with her thumb, to know if it is as soft as in her memory or if the euphoria of the moment played a trick with her mind. Her heart beats faster against her chest, threatening to come out if she dares to actually answer Alex. God, the fear is coming back and for once, she doesn’t want it to.   

‘’I’m sorry if I crossed any boundaries earlier.’’ she finally manages to answer, looking down at her hand a few inches away from Alex’s on the floor.  

The firefighter lifts her head as she hears Alex chuckle briefly, the sound low and tempting. There's a spark in her eyes, something close to mischief and Maggie is drawn to it like a moth to a flame. She's hopeless as Alex tips her head to the side and it brings them even closer to each other.  

‘’I was there.’’ she whispers, her words floating on Maggie’s lips ‘’I kissed you back, didn’t I?’’ Alex urges. 

Maggie thinks about it, about how their bodies moved together ever so briefly, ever so tenderly. She wants to go back to that moment and never step away from Alex, pull her closer beneath the damn mistletoe. But she had let fear takes over because...what if? What if it isn’t what Alex wants? What if this was something she wanted once and never talk about it again?  

‘’You did.’’ Maggie relents, her hand skirting Alex’s jaw while her thumb strokes the redness on the student’s cheek. ‘’And if I kissed you again, would you still kiss me back?’’  

Maggie has never considered herself as a hero, always said walking through fire was just a job. But she isn’t naïve. She knows that not everyone can do what she does, that it takes a certain kind of person. But this moment right here makes her feel like she’s on the edge of a cliff. Jumping seems unreasonable but oh so tempting and as stupid as it sounds, she feels brave.  

Alex’s eyes flutter closed as she exhales deeply. Maggie notices the goosebumps on her skin and figures that maybe she isn’t the only one desperate to be touched in this room. Alex simply nods, leaning her forehead against the Lieutenant's and Maggie doesn’t fight the cheeky grin on her lips.  

‘’Why don’t you try and find out.’’ Alex replies with a teasing smile of her own, the bathroom’s light dancing in her brown eyes like a lit match.  

Maggie wants to laugh at the unusual yet welcome confidence in Alex’s tone, she wants the moment to last. But she finally lowers her chin, her nose trailing down the redhead’s slowly, almost trailing a path to Alex’s lips.  When she finally relents, her mouth almost seems to contour Alex’s, taking in its softness in before pressing and tasting Alex’s lips for the second time that night.  

The first time she had rushed in, barely believing what she was doing. But this time, there's no excuses save for following her heart, her body, her deepest desire. She opens her mouth at the same time Alex does, their breath mingling, dizzying Maggie in the sweetest way.  

Alex’s hand finds her thigh and Maggie feel herself keen forward, a shuddering breath nearly breaking off their kiss. But Alex thankfully catches her with the other hand on Maggie's shoulder, her fingers rapidly interweaving through her hair. Maggie’s tongue darts out in search for the redhead’s, leaning into the woman hungrily when she finds it, causing Alex to moan softly in her mouth.  

Maggie frowns at the indescribable feeling, every inch of her body suddenly hot. She starts to move without breaking their slow and languid kiss, leaning Alex backwards onto the cold and fresh tiles. Maggie leans back slightly to take off her shirt, Alex’s hands reaching for her waist when the door suddenly bursts open. 

Jack and Gertie come hurtling into the room, the puppies shoving and sliding across the new floor until Jack ends up fur first in the container of tiling cement.  

‘’Jack, no!’’ the firefighter calls out as the pup trips and falls on his side, practically rolling in the tray as his white fur disappears beneath the grey mix. 

Jack seems to blink at her, confused as he tries to stand back up and failing. Maggie looks at him with wide eyes and an open mouth, but is startled out of her stupor when she hears Alex’s beautiful laugh in response to the sight of the white Labrador struggling to walk, Gertrude standing by the threshold, almost shaking her head at her partner in crime.  

Maggie can’t help but laugh as well, not recalling the last time she genuinely laughed like this with tears prickling her eyes.  

“Oh god, hold up, I’m getting a towel.” Alex says, hurrying to her feet and reaching out for the cloth on the sink.  

Maggie leans forward, gathering Jack in her arms as he barks desperately, smearing cement all over Maggie’s shirt. Alex chuckles still as she crawls toward the bathtub, opening the faucet as Maggie glares at her playfully. 

‘’Alright, buddy, you’re fine, I got you. God, you’re a messy boy, aren’t you? What were you trying to do?’’  

The pup’s ear half lifts before falling down cutely, his brown eyes into Maggie’s. He simply licks her chin in response as Gertrude barks and taps her paw on the floor.  

‘’You’re a good girl, Gertie.’’ Alex calls out, testing the lukewarm water ‘’I know you tried to stop him, sweetie.’’  

Gertrude yaps happily as Maggie and Alex exchange soft smirks before looking away, blushing.  

‘’Up we go, buddy.’’ Maggie murmurs as she moves carefully, rejoining Alex’s side and slipping the whining dog into the bath.  

Jack keeps moving as they do their best to clean him up, despite his attempts to flee. The cement mix washes off fairly easily, the pup’s white fur soon returning as the grey swirls down the drain.   

“That should do it.” The student resolves sort of triumphantly, checking Jack’s paws and ears once more. “I think we go-"  

Maggie stumbles as Gertie scrambles through her legs and barks with her paws on the bathtub, calling out for her friend. Jack finally succeeds, jumping off the edge of the bath. Both women try to reach for him but it’s too late as he bolts outside of the room, Gertrude trotting behind him almost with a snort.  

Maggie sighs before realizing she's pinning Alex against the bathtub. The student’s eyelashes flutter against her cheek as she bites down on her lip shyly. Maggie finds it adorable and can't help but want to kiss her again.  

‘’Hmm, maybe we should wash our hands off too.’’ Alex suggests softly, turning around with deliberate movements to lean over the bath, her back coming to rest against Maggie’s center.   

The firefighter forces herself to breathe, not able to stop a small groan from crossing her lips. The sudden wave of arousal hit her so unexpectedly, it makes Maggie desperate for more. It’s like having something she's been denied her whole life. 

Her hand finds Alex’s hip, fingers slowly slipping past her shirt, massaging the flesh.  Maggie's fingertips are hot against the student’s skin as if she's dancing with a fire. And it’s the only one the firefighter has never wanted to beat, the only one she urges to move across her body in any way it pleases. And it's dangerous, Maggie knows that. It risks hurting them both.  

She slowly drops her lips to Alex’s shoulder, her fingers reaching up and somewhat pushing the strap of her tank top aside, lingering and kissing the pale skin hotly. Her teeth nip lightly, Maggie drawing her lips up Alex's neck to kiss that spot beneath her ear.  

Alex inhales and shudders against her and Maggie lifts her hand, slipping her fingers into the redhead’s short curls, taking off the hair band keeping it up in the process. Alex leans back into her shoulder at the gesture, mouth parted slightly as she tries to breath. 

Maggie briefly wonders if this is all a dream as she leaves open mouth kisses on Alex’s jaw before going straight for her mouth, her tongue already ready to meet her.  

She feels the woman shift awkwardly, turning to face Maggie with a hand in her hair, the other fisting into her navy shirt. Maggie dives into Alex’s mouth once more before pulling back to take off her shirt. Her eyelids feel heavy as she struggles to keep them open to witness the hunger in Alex’s eyes as her still wet hands travel up her stomach.  

Maggie sighs and straddles Alex’s lap, studying the flush on her neck with the tip of her finger. Her hips roll of their own accord as Alex’s hands pull at her waist, both women’s breath cutting off into a moan. 

Maggie threads her hands into Alex’s hair, leaning back in for another kiss when they are interrupted by a ringtone. Maggie grabs the edge of the bathtub, knuckles white at the irritation that floods her chest with the familiar song. She swallows a sigh and stand up, taking her cellphone out of her cargo pants.   

‘’Lieutenant Sawyer.’’ she answers, listening intently to Chief Jonnz insisting for her to come in for an emergency. 

“Yes Sir, I’ll be there in ten.’' Maggie assures stiffly, before hanging up and leaning against the sink heavily. 

She closes her eyes, reality coming back to her harshly. Thoughts flooding her now undistracted mind with the facts of what’s just happened. What was she thinking? Kissing her roommate and a friend like that? God, she has no time for a relationship… she's not good at them. She never has been. She never wanted to be.  

Maggie stumbles on her feet and clears her throat as she bends down to put her shirt back on.  

‘’Um, I’m sorry, I gotta go, Alex. Will you please make sure Jack is dry, I just...there’s an emergency and I’ll probably crash on my bunk at the station.’’ Maggie rambles on, tidying the room up hastily before grabbing her plaid shirt.  

She sneaks a glance to the shocked woman sitting on the half-made floor, her tank top and hair askew as she breathes with a tense control. 

Maggie gulps down the shame to just leave her like this, some part of her demanding to stay.

‘’Don’t wait up. I’ll see you, Danvers.’'  

 

“Oh my God this can’t be happening.” Maggie mumbles, running her hands through her hair as she paces alongside the fire truck, her crew half laughing and half trying to get her to calm down. 

“Come on Sawyer, she’s great.” Lucy reasons calmly. “Stop worrying so much and take a chance.” 

“She is really nice and somehow puts up with your useless butt.” Winn chimes in, James glaring at him a little playfully. 

Maggie shakes her heads little, the feeling of Alex's lips against her own lingering like a ghost in her minds eye. And she wants more, can’t help the way she wants to go home right now and pull Alex as close as possible and kiss her until she can’t breathe. But she can’t, a small voice in head speaking behind it all. 

“What if it doesn’t work?” Maggie questions, more so to herself than anyone else. 

“What if what doesn’t work?” J’onn questions, bringing a plate of food out of the kitchen with Jack trotting on his heels. 

“Sawyer here finally kissed her girl last night.” Lucy grins out, sharing a mischievous look with Winn. 

“Really?” Jonn asks, handing the food to James and reaching for Maggie’s arm to stop her pacing. “So, what’s wrong?” He questions quietly. 

Maggie just looks at him, feeling the tears threatening a little as he pulls her behind the fire truck for a little privacy. 

“What’s going on Mags?” He urges gently, letting the firefighter lean her back against the truck heavily as she forces herself not to cry in frustration. 

“I just... I like her so much, more than like and I... what if I mess it up?” She asks brokenly, J’onn just shakes his head softly and pulls her into a tight hug.  

“I know your parents weren’t that great together.” he whispers to her. “But I remember the night I saved you from that fire, I remember how strong you were, how strong you still are.” He reasons, holding Maggie a little tighter. “But it’s okay to be scared. It's okay to want what your parents never had Maggie.” J’onn explains, pulling back and wiping at the quiet tears on Maggie’s face. 

“She deserves mo-" Maggie tries getting out, her chief giving her a look that makes the words drift off. 

“I love you kid, but it isn’t your call to decide what this girl deserves, its hers.” Jonn reasons with a soft smile. “And she wants you. So, you gotta choose if she deserves what she wants... if you deserve what you want.” 

All Maggie can do is huddle into J’onn for another hug, letting a few more tears run down her face as she plays his words over in her mind amongst the thoughts of kissing Alex again. And it’s as if Maggie's heart is silenced by it all and yet racing a thousand miles a minute at the thought of the student.  

And for the first time in so long, Maggie knows what she wants. She just hopes Alex will want the same. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heres the official ending everyone (the last chapter is the epilogue) this has been fun and beautiful. I thank my friend Atlas98 for agreeing to join me on this cheesy ride. And I want to thank you all for the constant feedback. You're the best! -AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do
> 
> Enjoy! 😄
> 
> Ps. We added a bit more here with Mags to make the flow better and give a bit more detail 😄

Alex walks into the kitchen and leans over the island when her eyes catch the sight of Maggie on her back under the sink. The firefighter is wearing an old white t-shirt and dirty jeans but Alex can't help finding her more attractive than ever. Rolling her eyes at herself, she clears her throat.

‘’Oh, hey, Danvers.’’ Maggie says, finally noticing her ‘’Would you mind giving me the wrench?’’

The student bends down beside the typical red toolbox and gets the wrench Maggie asked for. Slipping her hand toward her, she waits for the lieutenant to pick it up.

‘’Thanks, Danvers.’’ Maggie mutters, continuing her work.

Alex stays there for a moment, scratching her eyebrow and wondering how the next minute would play out. She wishes she had the guts to wait for Maggie to be done so she could look her in the eyes, but this would be easier.

‘’So..um, Maggie. Remember when I mentioned my sister and her husband?‘’ Alex recalls nervously.

‘’Oh yeah, the golden couple.’’ Maggie teases with a grin ‘’What about them?’’

Alex gets lost in the dimples on Maggie’s cheeks for a second before recalling what she came in here for.

‘’So, yeah, they’re going to this party tonight and they invited me, but I can bring someone. I just figured it would be more fun if you came you know. So, would you? Like to go with me?’' Alex eventually asks, her heart in her throat.

Maggie seems to freeze at the question and before she can answer, her arm jerks forward, causing the wrench to loosen a fitting, water spraying from the pipe and down Maggie’s neck and shirt.

Both women gasp, Alex standing up while the brunette scrambles up from under the sink. Alex picks up a towel nearby, giving it to Maggie once she’s secured the fitting back on, the woman grumbling about the cold water.

‘’Shit, are you okay?’’ Alex questions, frowning at the shocked woman.

‘’Yeah, no, I’m fine, it’s just water.’’ Maggie says, wiping off her arms.

Alex does her best to not stare, the white shirt going see through thanks to the water. She can see Maggie’s black bra perfectly, the line of her waist...the image doesn't exactly leave all that much to Alex’s imagination and she remembers vividly what Maggie looks like without her shirt. She looks down, clearing her throat, fighting the wave of arousal, her nerves rising even higher.

‘’Listen, uh, thanks for the invitation but I can’t.’’ Maggie finally tells her, making a task of trying to dry off to avoid looking at Alex.  
Alex now fights the embarrassment and nods quickly.

‘’Oh, yeah, no problem. I know it’s last minute and all.’’ Alex adds, trying to downplay the rejection.

Maggie seems to gulp at that and shakes her head with sigh. She leans back against the counter, still pressing the towel against her chest.

‘’It’s not that. I have a work thing. I’d like to go but I just can’t.’’ Maggie clarifies.

Alex nods slowly, not able to stop the disappointment, noticing that lately Maggie has stayed late at work even more than usual. Was she avoiding her?

‘’I thought you had the night off.’’ Alex recalls, slightly confused as she thinks back on this morning with the woman.

Maggie half-shrugs, pulling against her shirt so it wouldn’t stick to her skin.

‘’I did, but things changed.’’ Maggie simply answers, avoiding Alex’s eyes determinedly. ‘’I’m gonna go take a shower, Danvers.’’

Alex wants to cry and slap herself for bringing the party up. She thought she and Maggie were in a good place and that Maggie wanted the same thing as her. But she must have got it all wrong.

‘’Mags, is everything okay?’’ She calls out with sigh, hoping to not sound too desperate. But she has to know where she stands right now for Maggie.

The firefighter stops at the foot of the stairs, looking back at her with an unsure smile. Her eyes bores into hers and Alex has to fight every one of her instincts to not just flee.

‘’Yeah, everything is fine. I’ll see you around, Danvers.’' Maggie says before disappearing upstairs.

Alex puts her forehead against the wall and ignores Jack and Gertie’s pitiful looks, both the puppies wrapping around each other.

Alex realizes she should stop with the wishful thinking. Maybe Maggie and her would never happen.

But she keeps going back to that kiss in the bathroom and she can’t help hoping, maybe they would.

 

 

Alex barely glances at the choir on the doorstep of the beautiful and grandiose house, not really in the mood for Christmas songs about family and love. But she's here for Kara, so she tries nonetheless, putting on her best pretending smile and adjusts the black dress around her hips.

She appreciates the décor and rich architecture, not able to stop herself from smiling genuinely at the Christmas tree in the middle of the house. It reminds her of the holidays during her childhood when her dad used to put her on his shoulders so she could put the star on top.

It of course reminds her of Maggie and the Christmas tree they bought last week. She wonders what she could do to repair her mistake from this afternoon. She clearly spooked the other woman and she doesn’t want to lose her as a friend in the very least. She has to find a way to make Maggie understand that.

She sees her sister near the piano through the crowd and walks toward her, dreading what was about to come.

‘’Oh, Alex! I’m so glad you could make it and oh, you’re wearing the dress. Look how beautiful she is, Adam!’’ Kara welcomes her with a hug.

Adam chuckles and agrees, embracing his sister-in-law.

‘’So, where is brown eyes? We’re excited to meet her.’’ Adam says with a smile.

Alex winces and sighs, shrugging sadly.  
‘’She couldn’t make it, she had a work thing.’’ Alex admits.

She can't handle the pity on Adam’s face and the disappointment in Kara’s eyes. The blond man looks past her.

‘’Oh, Kara, there are your new clients, we should go say hi.’’ the man suggest, Alex grateful for the opportunity of a distraction.

Kara keeps frowning at her sister, quietly asking her if she would be okay.

‘’Go, sis, I’ll be fine.’’ Alex reassures her with a kiss on the cheek.

‘’We’ll talk later, okay? Love you.’’ Kara concludes with a hug.

The couple shuffles off and Alex doesn’t know if she feels relief or just sad to be left alone. Again. She goes back to the crowd, trying to mingle and even talk to a gorgeous lawyer, but her heart isn’t in it. She walks to the back of the house, hoping to get some fresh air when she freezes. Her heart can’t help but stall in her chest, filled with awe at the sight.

Because there she is. Maggie Sawyer.

In a dazzling suit... standing beside a woman in a red dress. The tall beauty with black hair and pale skin leans forward to kiss Maggie’s cheek, the firefighter smiling at her, throwing her arm around her shoulders confidently.

Alex suddenly can't breathe, her heart missing a couple of beats before she finally moves backward, accidentally bumping into someone. She doesn’t register if she even apologizes, doing her best to get out of there without running away as Kara and Adam call after her in confusion.

But she has to get away from here, has to get as far away from that sight as she can, away from Maggie.

 

 

  
Alex feels her shoulders slump as she signs the note she’s leaving for Maggie. She wanted to say goodbye properly before she left, but Alex couldn’t bring herself to say anything when Maggie had headed off to her shift this morning.

After the party last night, Alex doesn’t feel like she can handle being here anymore. The image of Maggie leaning so comfortably into the woman in red, her green eyes regarding the firefighter reverently in a way Alex can’t help feel guilty over. Maggie deserves to be with someone who looks at her like that, deserves someone like that woman. And it’s not her.

So Alex had packed all her stuff, Kara having already taken half of it to her new place a while ago. And all that’s left is this, a piece of paper that Alex sort of wants to scream at because of what it means.

But Maggie has been kind enough to let her stay here long enough, Alex knowing that whoever that woman she was with at the party can’t be all that happy about Maggie having another girl in her house.

And besides, Alex cant help feeling like she’s intruding now. Which isn’t something she wants to associate with Maggie.  
So she fights back a few tears as she pushes the note into the middle of the counter and bends down to pick up Gertie and her last bag to leave.

But as she stands again, she’s met with two sets of happy brown eyes, Jack and Maggie having come home early.

“Hey Danvers.” Maggie smiles out. “Jonn let me go early and... what’s going on?” she asks, suddenly seeming a little confused.

“I um... I was just leaving a note.” Alex explains. “I found a place and Kara's got all my stuff there now and I'm...”

Maggie takes a breath and bites her lip a little in a way that seems like she’s trying not to cry, the sight tugging at Alex’s heart painfully.

“You’re leaving?” Maggie asks quietly, Jack whining up at Gertie in Alex’s arms as the vet student shuffles on her feet.

She doesn’t really trust her voice, so Alex just nods, forcing a polite smile onto her face as she walks past Maggie and heads for the front door.

“Wait.” Maggie says hesitantly, reaching out a little before pulling her hand back nervously.

“What?” Alex urges quietly, unable to stop herself from wanting to hear what Maggie was going to say.

The firefighter looks so small in her uniform as she stares at Alex, emotion raging in her eyes as she tries to speak.

“Its just.. well you know I'm... Jack is really going to miss Gertie.” Maggie gets out, Jack whining and sidling up beside the brunette as if to confirm the words.

Alex can’t do this. She can't keep seeing Maggie like this, can’t have her caring and then pulling away when she gets scared or she gets tired of whoever she’s dating. Alex doesn’t want to put herself through that.

“Well we can set up something in the new year for them.” Alex offers quietly.

Maggie just stands, eyes a little lost as she shakes her head in confusion

“Wait.. the new year? But that's... so far.” She murmurs out sadly.

Alex shrugs a little and nods. She knows it’s pretty far away, but she needs time to get over this before she can see Maggie again. She needs to get over this girl.

“I'll give you a call.” Alex says politely, the tone seeming foreign between them in this place.

“Oh.. okay.” Maggie murmurs, avoiding Alex’s eyes.

Alex restrains herself from stepping in to try get rid of the sadness she can hear in Maggie’s voice. Because this is the best option for them both.

So she opens the door and steps out.

“I'll see you around Sawyer.” Alex offers with a smile, letting herself look back at what she thought she could have one last time before closing the door behind herself.

 

 

 

The phone rings…and rings…and rings. Maggie clenches her jaw as she waits, hoping for nothing more than to hear Alex’s voice come through the line. But eventually the ringing stops and she’s met with the student’s voicemail, the recorded message in a voice that sounds familiar but not quite enough just making the ache in her chest worse.

Maggie sits back against her couch with a sigh, wishing she had bought more beers. Jack looks just as pitiful as her as he climbs into her lap. She plays with his ears, massaging them as he whines softly.

She tosses her phone onto the couch beside her, slumping into the cushions. She can’t help remembering Alex leaving earlier, the way all she wanted to do was stand in the doorway and stop it from happening. But she couldn’t, some part of her frozen and scared that it’s not her place.

Jack huffs once more and Maggie grumbles.

‘’I know, buddy, okay?! I don’t understand what happened...’’ she mumbles.

The white Labrador taps her chest with his paw and Maggie rolls her eyes.

‘’Yes, I’m the idiot, I know.’’ Maggie sighs ‘’Truth is, I don’t even know what’s going on. Does she regret the kiss? Is she mad because I left for work and didn’t talk to her about it when I eventually came back? God, I’m so stupid, Jack.’’ she muses out loud.

Jack cries again before jumping off the couch and cuddling up on the floor, his and Gertie’s spot looking empty without the Border Collie there to cuddle with him.

‘’I screwed up, Jack. I screwed up the best thing that ever happened to me. We were like a family, weren’t we?’’ she murmurs, refusing to acknowledge the tears that want to break free. ‘’Why couldn’t I be brave, huh? Isn't that what I'm supposed to be?’’

The pup seems to feel bad for her, trotting back toward the couch, licking her toes playfully. Maggie smiles down sadly at him.

‘’At least, you don’t completely hate me.’’ Maggie comments.

Unlike Alex, Maggie thinks, recalling the sadness in her brown eyes, the disappointment around her mouth and the tiredness in her shoulders. Alex had been gone for a couple of hours and Maggie doesn’t know how long she can last without hearing back from the other girl. Everything belonging to the vet student is gone but her absence fills the whole house. Maggie keeps seeing the redhead’s presence everywhere. In the paint, in the tiles, in the small hole in the hallway when Alex and Maggie messed around with Jack and Gertrude on their toes.

Truth is, it had been so easy to come back home two days later after their bathroom moment and pretend that nothing happened. She hadn’t wanted things to change between them, but by avoiding to talk about it, she ruined whatever they had. Now, Alex surely hates her but Maggie figures she can’t hate her more than she hates herself right now. 

“How am I supposed to fix this?” Maggie questions sadly, dropping her head into her hands.

She used to be afraid of this, of needing someone the way she now can’t deny she needs Alex. But Maggie is sure that this is worse, she's more scared of not getting Alex back than anything else.

Her hands find her phone again, Maggie nervous as she unlocks it and finds Alex’s name on the speed dial, the picture of the student surrounded by Christmas decorations pulling an involuntary smile from Maggie's lips and giving her the kick she needs to press the call button.

 

 

  
“I just don't get it.” Alex sniffles, hugging Susan’s couch cushion close to her chest in an attempt to keep herself together.

Susan puts her arm over Alex’s shoulders, pulling the student into her side tightly. She reaches across to the coffee table to grab Alex’s phone when it rings, A picture of Maggie surrounded by Christmas ornaments wrenching at Alex’s chest as she pulls it from Susan’s hand and hangs up. 

“Maybe you could talk to her Al? I could ask Lucy?” Susan urges, Alex gritting her teeth at the slight pity in her friends eyes.

“No. There’s no point.” Alex says, wiping at her tears angrily. “She’s with someone else and there’s nothing else to say.”

“You don’t know that for su-"

“I saw them.” Alex cuts in exasperatedly, her mind flashing back to the woman in red and making her stomach churn.

Susan nods, putting a hand on Alex’s arm in comfort, the contact doing little to ease the ache Alex feels inside, little to ease the anger and the frustration raging in her head. What is driving Alex to tears is really something else...

“I just don't understand.” She cries quietly. “Why the kiss? If she didn’t like me... why that kiss? And the rest of I, she.. I don't understand. Why?” Alex asks, the question hurting more now that its said out loud.

“I’m sorry Alex.” Susan offers, pulling the student in close with her apparent lack of answer.

If they can’t figure it out together, Alex doesn’t know how she's supposed to make sense of any of it. Because that’s what Maggie feels like; unpredictable, disorientating... and completely inevitable.

That’s what falling for Maggie is, inevitable.

And Alex can’t do that, she knows now they'll never work.

So she ignores the calls and cries on Susan’s couch, her heart begging to hear the firefighters voice against the logic that keeps the phone silent. Alex can’t be around the firefighter right now. 

She needs time. She needs to get over Maggie.

 

  
  
Maggie sighs and drops her head into her hands, the pom pom of her Santa hat hitting her cheek. Usually the kids and the Christmas music actually makes Maggie smile, but this year all she can think about is Alex.

She’s been trying to call the student for days now, her voicemail breaking Maggie’s heart every time. And she's stuck, not knowing where the students new place is, Caitlin being off on leave from work. Even Vasquez won’t tell Lucy where Alex is so Maggie can’t try and fix whatever had happened. 

“This is the worst Christmas ever.” Maggie grumbles, wanting nothing more than to just have Alex in her arms so she can rest a little.

Because since she’s be gone, sleeping hasn’t come easy and Maggie is running on empty.  
Jack whines at her, hopping onto a chair and putting a paw on her thigh.

“I know you miss Gertie...” Maggie says sadly, petting Jack in an attempt to soothe the look on the puppy’s face, his ears low and sad.  
But Jack just whines again.

“What?” Maggie asks. “If I knew where they were I would go get them.” She reasons, leaning back into her chair in frustration. “I want her back too.”

Maggie is about to give up, just go back out to the kids and call this Christmas over. But Jack barks, jumping onto the table and shoving the newspaper on the surface towards Maggie with his nose.

“Hey! What are you do-" Maggie cuts herself off, spotting the ad beneath Jack’s paw as she pulls the paper out from under the puppy.

“The park!” Maggie exclaims, recalling now that Alex said she would be volunteering there on Christmas for the adopt a pet event. “Jack you’re a genius! Let’s go!” 

Maggie races out into the truck bay, spotting Jonn talking with a few parents with a smile on his face.

“Can I borrow the truck?” Maggie questions hastily, tugging the Santa jacket from her shoulders and shoving it into Jonn’s arms as he smiles.

“You found her?” He asks.

Maggie nods and bounces on her feet a little as she waits for permission.

“Well why the hell are you standing here waiting for me? Go get her!” Jonn laughs out, shooing Maggie with a hand as he laughs.

Maggie beams at him and starts to run for the truck door, stopping after a moment and running back full tilt into Jonn, crushing him in a hug.

“Thank you.” She says quietly.

She feels Jonn give her a comforting squeeze, his arms strong across her back before he urges her away.

“Always. Now get going Sawyer.” He says, his tone as if he's giving an order.

And Maggie finally feels a small spark of hope in her chest as she runs to the truck, lifting Jack onto the passenger seat and buckling in.

“Okay boy... we got this.” She says to the puppy, patting his head gently as they roll out of the firehouse to try calm her nerves.

She's finally going after Alex. She's not scared to scream from the top of the tallest building that she wants Alex, wants it all with her.

 

 

  
Alex turns as a siren sounds overhead, the sound echoing through the park. And her heart leaps a little at the possibility of what it could mean as a familiar red truck comes into view. Because it had been days only since she last saw Maggie and she is missing her terribly.

She watches as the fire engine pulls to a halt on the street, its brakes screeching a little as it stops. Alex finds herself holding her breath, shuffling across the grass towards the truck, not able to fathom an idea as to what is going on, hope and dread twisting her stomach.

And when the door opens, a dark sweep of hair cascading out as a blue uniform jumps to the grass and starts jogging towards her. Alex thinks this is surreal and everything she’s been wishing for the last few days.

“Maggie? What are you doing here?” Alex questions, kind of shocked to see the firefighter after everything. It’s definitely not what she thought would be happening today.

“Jack reminded me that you'd volunteered here for Christmas.” Maggie offers, her smile bright but nervous.

“He did?” Alex shakes her head a little confused. “I don’t understand why you're here. I thought you’d uh.. be with your new girlfriend?”

Maggie frowns a little, her hands raising up by her sides in question. Alex curses herself for thinking the other woman looked adorable.

“What new girlfriend?” She questions, her eyes sincere as they search Alex’s face for the answer.

The words rises even higher the hope behind her messy heart, but she refuses to give in so fast.

“The one I saw you with at the mayor’s Christmas party.” Alex reasons, trying her best to keep the hurt from her voice.

“Wait.” Maggie says, gathering herself a little. “You were at that party?”

Alex shrugs, failing at downplaying her disappointment.

“Yeah. It's the party I invited you to, but you had to work.” She recalls. “And then you were there... with the girl in the red dress.” 

Maggie sighs in relief, her shoulders slumping down as she relaxes. And all Alex can do is watch the motion, her heart making her feet shuffle beneath her as it begs to just step forward.

“I was there to promote the firefighters calendar.” Maggie explains, tilting her head with a bashful smile. “It's something we do every Christmas to raise money for the children’s hospital. And that girl, was the mayor’s daughter, Lena Luthor. She's the CEO." Maggie offers.

Alex scrunches her eyes shut at Maggie’s words, embarrassed beyond belief at her hast to jump to conclusions. But Maggie is still smiling at her when she looks back, the firefighter reaching out to grab her hand, burning her in the best of way in the process.

“Alex Danvers. You are the smartest and most beautiful girl I've ever met.” Maggie confesses, laughing under her breath at her own words in a way that leaves Alex speechless. “And I love that you know the perfect shade of white. And I love that you know how to install a stove, I promise I will teach you how to cook.” Maggie chuckles, Alex along with her as she recalls her kitchen mishap a few weeks ago. “I love that you love animals.. And that you know how to choose the perfect Christmas tree.” The firefighter smiles out.

The confession already has Alex bordering on tears, her heart going crazy in her chest, quite not realizing what is happening. But it goes silent as Maggie continues.

“I love... that you believe in love. And make me believe too.” Maggie admits gently. “And I know you wanna finish school and start your practice before you find love.” She recalls. “But sometimes it finds you when you weren’t even looking.” Maggie reasons.

Alex’s voice catches in her throat, Maggie just smiling as she struggles to find something to say. But the firefighter let’s her hands go, stepping back with a reassuring smile.

“I wanna jump in front of you. And stop you in your tracks.” Maggie chuckles out, her arms wide as if she’s asking Alex to come with her.

Alex sniffs, the smile breaking out on her face unstoppable. “Mountain lions.” She laughs out wetly.

Maggie just tilts her head, dimples etching into her cheeks as she backs up towards the Fire truck, climbing onto the back steps.

“I'm climbing to the highest peak I can find.” She declares, like the whole park can hear her now. “And if you join me, I know that we'll be together forever.” She swears, hand extending out to Alex in question.

And for all the years she spent in school, all the tests and the studying, Alex never thought an answer could ever be so easy.

She laughs and shuffles over to the truck, Maggie just beaming down at her as she climbs onto the roof and offers Alex her hand to climb up after her.

She gets a bit of a head rush at the top, but Maggie’s hands are there to hold her steady, her brown eyes entrancing Alex like the very first time they met.

“I love you, Alex Danvers.” Maggie professes, her voice telling Alex that it’s true.

“I love you, Maggie Sawyer.” Alex smiles back, her heart pretending to be calm as Maggie smiles back at her in awe, the firefighter’s hands pulling at her waist gently until she can lean in to kiss her.

And they’re both laughing, smiles making it awkward to stay together, but neither care, Alex happy to just feel Maggie’s lips on her own after craving the sensation for so long.

So even when they have to pull away to breathe a little and Maggie rests her forehead against Alex's, the sight of Jack and Gertie curled up together over the firefighters shoulder makes Alex feel more hope than she ever thought possible.

And as scared as she was of getting her heart burned, Alex can’t help loving the way Maggie sets it on fire when she smiles and kisses her again.

Because all her years of believing in love could never have prepared her for this, for Maggie. Being here with her is like pure instinct, nothing else seems to fit, no other scenario working in Alex’s head. 

They were just meant to be. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, it's been such a fun ride and writing this has been the best time ever! And of course a big thank you to AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do for convincing me to do this (it didnt take much😅) and to everyone who's enjoyed the story along the way😊 -Atlas98 x


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AlmostAsGoodAs_I_do: Hey Everyone, this is it, the Epilogue. Make sure you read the chapter before this one. We want to thank every one of you that read, left kudos and comments on this fic. Your enthusiam was contagious and has been the highlight of my weeks. This is my very first co-written fic with Atlas98 no less and certainly not our last as we plan to write mores together. It has been a very fun ride that I'm happy to share with you all. Thank you xx (And thank you my friend for saying yes. You're amazing, truly the best partner in crime xx )
> 
> We intend to post at some point (At some point being the keynote) an evolution piece of Alex and Maggie relationship starting from the moment they confessed their feelings for each other. It wasn't planned (so it's not written yet) but we want to do this for you guys because you loved this story as much as us.
> 
> If you missed it I posted a one shot on Vday called What troublemakers do on Valentine's day and Atlas98 posted Show me and updated her amazing story Say you love me tonight if you guys want to check it all out.
> 
> Last and not least, enjoy this short last chapter, thank you all very much xx

The fire truck comes to a stop in front of the vet clinic. Maggie still smiles up at the venture, proud of her girlfriend and her friends for realizing their dream a year ago. 

‘’Alright, the stop for you guys to see your girls.’’ Winn calls out, smirking at them through the rear view mirror. 

Maggie snorts as Lucy gingerly jumps out of the fire truck, excited to see Susan. 

‘’As if you didn’t want to see the dogs and cats yourself, Winn.’’ James retorts playfully, ruffling his boyfriend’s hair. 

Maggie gets out as well, shaking her head at her team. She's only grown more protective and loving of them since becoming Captain last year, working right alongside J'onn to make sure everyone stays safe and the job gets done. 

Jack jumps down to the pavement behind her happily, the young dog not really aware of how big he's gotten as he tries huddling between Maggie’s legs playfully before realizing he doesn’t really fit. Maggie chuckles and adjusts the suspenders over her navy shirt and kneels in front of her dog. 

‘’Okay, buddy. You know what to do.’' Maggie recalls to her now two years old Labrador. 

She lifts her head when she sees J’onn coming out of his battalion chief truck. Maggie smiles at him, thankful that he allowed this pit stop. 

They all enter the clinic that is heavily decorated with Christmas light, thanks to Alex. The sight is almost as welcoming as Caitlin, the woman rolling her eyes but smiling at Vasquez being too busy with Lucy behind the counter. Maggie smiles at them and waves at Caitlin. 

‘’Hey, Cait. Is Alex in the back?’’ she asks nervously. 

The woman nods at her with enthusiasm before Maggie notices Kara and Adam near, sitting down in the waiting area. 

‘’Hello Golden couple.’' Maggie teases them, bending down to pat the golden Labrador by their feet ‘’Finally decided to adopt a dog, huh? Are all the cats mad?’’ 

Adam bumped her shoulder gently with his fist while Kara laughed. 

‘’Some are thrilled, others less, brown eyes.” Kara teases, the blonde quick to use the old endearment Alex used for her whenever she wants Maggie to blush. “It’s okay though, we got enough love to give.’’ she says, rubbing her belly 

Maggie smiles at the couple, happy for them and their future. She could only hope to get there with Alex someday. Maybe someday would be today. 

She smiles happily at them, scratching Krypto as she stands up and pats her leg to call Jack. The dog follows her with his head high as they cross the door leading to the operation room.  

Jack rushes to Gertrude on the bed in the corner, the lying Border collie rising to meet her friend. Alex turns her head toward Maggie, leaning the broom against the medical table. 

‘’Hey baby, what a nice surprise.’’ Alex grins, kissing her more than waiting lips. 

Maggie lingers more than she usually does when she comes for an impromptu visit at the clinic, the excitement making her skin feel like sparks. Especially as Alex sighs into her mouth and returns the slow kiss. 

‘’Hmm, what was that for?’’ she asks a little distractedly, fingers playing with Maggie's hair. 

The firefighter takes a step back, nervously grabbing Alex’s hands. 

‘’Well, because I love you and because you’re the love of my life.’' she chuckles out softly ‘’Damn, I was supposed to build the momentum...’’ Maggie pauses to try calm her racing heart. ‘’Okay, Jack I need you here.’’ 

Jack trots slowly toward her as practiced and sits down by Maggie’s legs. The woman pats his head gently before kneeling in front of Alex, her head dizzy with nerves. Taking a deep breath, she reaches for the box around Jack’s collar and turns toward an already gasping Alex. 

‘’Alexandra Danvers, we’ve been together for two years...a bit more if I believe Kara and your shenanigans.’’ Maggie smiles softly, never forgetting the moment Alex admitted to her that she told Kara they were dating back when she didn’t even know her name ‘’We built a house and a family together. I’m hoping we can build a life together too, because I never want to stop having firsts with you and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. So baby, will you do me the honour of calling yourself my wife, will you marry me?’’ 

Maggie waits for what feels like an eternity before Alex simply kneels in front of her, cradling her face. 

‘’Yes.’’ she cries against her lips before kissing her. ‘’Yes. Yes. Yes.’’ 

Maggie sighs out of relief and happiness, encircling Alex’s waist, pulling her in and deepening their kiss. They have to pull back when Jack and Gertrude start to howl happily, tumbling their owner on the floor. They laugh and hug their dogs before standing up and kissing some more. 

‘’God, Maggie, you will be the death of me.’’ Alex mumbles against her mouth, the words slipping a little as Alex’s hands try holding steady to Maggie’s shoulders. 

The firefighter holds firmly at Alex’s waist, sensing the moment is making her a little dizzy as well. 

‘’Hey, I got you.’’ she chuckles ‘’Come on, everyone is here. Let’s tell them the good news that you didn’t reject my poor ass.”  

Alex smirks playfully, her hands drifting down into the back of Maggie’s firefighter pants, reaching until her fingers rest against the top of Maggie’s thigh, her palm resting against her butt playfully as Alex pulls her in close. 

‘’I could never say no to that fine ass, Captain Sawyer.’’ she breathes, her nose trailing down Maggie’s. 

A cough to clear his throat separates them and they both blushes at the sight of J’onn in the threshold. 

‘’I told Lucy we should wait, but um, they were all getting impatient.’’ the man says sheepishly. 

The women laugh in each other’s shoulders before following the Chief into the clinic. Maggie squeezes Alex’s hips when the woman catches the sight of her parents behind a beaming Kara and Adam. 

‘’So, what did she say?’’ Winn practically shouts as Jack and Gertrude joins the excited man. 

Maggie can't stop the tears this time as her whole family surrounds her with nothing but love in their eyes. She looks at her now fiancée and Alex kisses her dimples, leaning against her temple. 

‘’She said yes.’’ Maggie announces gently to them, a little more focused on the way Alex smiles at the confirmation. 

The room erupts in cheers and congratulations before Lucy chimes in, leaning excitedly on Susan's shoulder. 

‘’Put a ring on it!’’ She grins at the pair. 

Maggie turns toward Alex, the woman wiping the firefighter’s tears lovingly. Opening the blue velvet box, she takes the rings with small diamonds trailing the sides of the bigger one on top. Alex cries and rests her right hand over her heart, giving Maggie her left one. 

Nervously, but certain of their future, Maggie slips the ring onto Alex’s finger. They both smile at each other, not sure how they got this lucky, to have find each other. 

‘’I love you, Alex Danvers.’’ she exhales softly, not able to get over the fact that this woman would be hers. Is hers. 

Alex’s smile gets even bigger, her hands never letting go of Maggie’s as Jack and Gertrude come back to them, wagging their tails against their legs. 

‘’You too. Forever.’’ Alex promises. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it!!! Would love to hear one last time what you guys thought of this chapter and the one before that. Be on the look out for the evolution piece ;)
> 
> Anddddd Also, we want to announce our next story's title: Mrs. & Mrs. Sawyer. It will be based on the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith and we're very excited to start this so keep an eye out for when it finally hits A03. You can follow the both of us on Twitter and Tumbrl (I might or might not will be posting actual conversation between Jack and Gertrude if you guys are interested 😅)


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